Second Coat of Paint
by beifongfirebender
Summary: Little Azula has to deal with her mother being gone, at the same time as her school life changes drastically.
1. Chapter 1

_**To an infamous English teacher who never let them bully me on his watch…**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Since I could never get enough of flashbacks from the Fire Nation royal family's history, here is something that picks up after Ursa left and goes on in a bit of a different direction from there.**_

_**I just always hated how Iroh kind of gave up on Azula and bringing her to the good side, so in here I gave her someone who could lead her down a good path…**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 1**

As a nine-year-old, Princess Azula absolutely despised her school. She didn't hate learning new things however, she often excelled at those immediately, or at least quicker than others, which meant she was showered with the praise she undoubtedly deserved. She just didn't understand why she had to come _here_ for it. Her father already gave her private lessons on ruling, fighting and battle strategy. What else could she possibly have use for later in life…

She often voiced her thoughts on this, and every adult in her life gave her pretty much the same answer. Her mother's was the freshest in her memory. _It's to teach you about community. To connect you to other people._

And if it indeed was about the people here, Azula was sorely underwhelmed. She hated everyone here to some degree, she realized as she finished her school lunch. Even the two girls sitting at her sides, Mai and Ty Lee. She hated them the least, but some days… She just wished she could shut them up for good.

"You're done, Azula?" Ty Lee asked from her right.

_Oh, Spirits, Ty Lee, where do you get these ideas? What tipped you off? Was it my empty plate, the utensils I set down, me wiping my chin or maybe even me standing up?_

"We're leaving," Azula ordered, turning her head to Mai who was still chewing.

The three girls were slowly leaving their table, the one Azula didn't let anyone else use, when she remembered something.

Azula had realized long ago that if she was to spend time here at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, then it was in her best interest to make it useful. Efficiency was important and the school did provide her with a unique opportunity. Her mother was right about one thing, it was about the people here… They provided a perfect sample to test out her knowledge of ruling strategies her father was teaching her. The first lesson that came to mind was about having to occasionally remind your subjects of who you are and what you can do. At least that was easy…

"Hey, you! Yama!" She yelled at a girl carefully walking past her friends.

"Hi, Azula… My name is… Um… Amaya." The girl managed, freezing in place with her food plate. She was not a bender and a lot shorter than the rest of her peers, so she feared Azula even more than the other girls did.

"No one cares…" Azula snapped. She never remembered their names… Why would she trouble herself with triviality? She remembered them by their impressions, their signifying features. Tremors, Blinker, Crooked… This girl, she was Mouse, as much for size as for temperament.

"Yeah, no one cares, Yama!" Ty Lee echoed the insult in almost the same tone.

"Do you want something?" Mouse asked, trying to maintain eye contact. Someone had probably advised the girl to do so. It wasn't a dumb idea, but Azula was not just an ordinary bully. She just kept staring and eventually, Mouse looked down, hating herself. Like she did every time.

Azula took way too much pleasure in it.

"I'll give you a hint, it's your hair," Mai spoke. "It's the same as Azula's."

"That's not a hint, you just told her, stupid!" Azula snapped. "Learn words!"

Mai looked away in shame and Ty Lee made a sniveling face in what… Sympathy? No one made her say that stupid thing.

"I'm sorry, Azula… I wasn't thinking. I'll take it-" Mouse was interrupted when Azula shoved her to the floor. Everyone at lunch heard it and turned to look. The students, sure, but the teachers and cooks too. Mouse looked back at the adults in the room, hoping one of them would stop the Princess, but she knew they wouldn't. No one of any age wanted to upset Azula, even more so since her father became Fire Lord recently. One word to him from her and any one of them could just disappear.

Then the bell sounded from far away, ending lunch time. Everyone started moving towards the exit.

"It ends when I say it ends!" Azula screamed and they all stopped. Then she leaned forward and grabbed Mouse's hair to undo the top-knot. The hair-band came off, but not without taking some of Mouse's hair with it. To Azula's great surprise, the girl didn't even let out a sound at the pain.

"Next time I burn it off!" The Princess threw the hair-band to the floor then straightened her back and walked out of the lunch room gracefully, followed by Ty Lee and Mai, or as she used to call them in her mind, Parrot and Sheet-face.

**oooooooooo**

It was exactly noon. The Mathematics teacher, Shig, ran outside. They were expecting their new teacher that day. They were really understaffed after Princess Azula complained about a few employees to her father and Shig needed this man to show up right that second.

He was looking back to his papers to check if he had the right date and time when he heard hurried footsteps. Finally…

Shig looked up and there she was. The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, looking at him and smiling slightly. He smiled back involuntarily, as his mind filled with all kinds of thoughts his wife would kill him for.

"You work here, Sir?" she asked.

"Yes… Yes, I do." He coughed to fix his voice. "Are you lost, Miss?"

Shig had a tendency to call every beautiful woman _Miss_, but this one looked old enough to have been a _Mrs._ for years now.

"Not at all… What I am is late. My apologies." She tried to walk past him, but he blocked her way.

"Late for what?"

"The teaching job, of course. It's my first day, but the train passed the war front, so you know… Delays."

Shig blinked a few times while processing the information.

"That can't be…" He looked down at his papers. "The letter… We were expecting a man by the name of Zen Omori."

_Omori_ was a very, very respected last name. Shig was sure he wouldn't mix it up with another, but he checked all the same.

"Oh, I see the problem. I'm Zyra Omori. Zen's my little brother. You just asked for the last name and assumed it was him."

"But it clearly says here, the applicant graduated from the Royal Fire Academy for Boys. I'm afraid we cannot have someone who studied here teaching the young ladies. This school's curriculum was very lacking in the past."

"No, it's true. I transferred to the Boys' Academy on the account of being gifted. I graduated with honors, you can see it right there." She pointed to a line in his papers.

"I understand, however… You're… You are…"

Zyra was almost amused seeing this man trying, struggling, to think of single sound reason why a woman couldn't work there as a teacher. _Almost_ amused.

"Sir, it's not difficult. You are in need of a teacher, I am one. It's just that simple." And with that she hurried past him, carrying her suitcase.

"Mrs. Omori?" He seemed to come back to his senses after a few seconds, since she heard his voice and footsteps as she walked through the corridors.

"I'm not married."

"Miss Omori, then. I need to talk to the other teachers about this."

"I don't think I see why… All the paperwork I sent is legitimate."

"I know Miss Omori, but… University?" His eyes went wide at the diploma in the file.

Zyra knew it wasn't that unusual on a nation scale. The nobility in the capital were really the only ones who still fought to hold women back. She also knew it was a lost fight.

"_Zyra_'s just fine, since we're co-workers. Now where can I put my things?" She soon realized she wouldn't get an answer that easy, since other teachers in their red coats gathered around them. Shig was telling them about the mix-up. The faces those grown people were making… Honestly, it was like none of them had seen a woman prior to that day.

"Miss…" started the oldest one of them. "As the Headmaster, I think I speak for everyone here when I say, we would like to have you working here. It's just that we don't have the accommodations for someone like you."

"Accommodations?" she asked, faking interest.

_This ought to be good._

"For example, this coat… It's catered to a man's proporti-" He had no time to finish, since Zyra took the coat from him and put it on. Yes, it was a little wide at the shoulders and the sleeves were too long, but it was hardly a disaster…

"Any other problems?" she asked, rolling the sleeves back.

"We don't have an appropriate office for you."

"And if I were a man, then…" Zyra was getting pissed at this nonsense already.

"We intended for you to share an office with Mr. Akagi. But since he is… A man and you… Well, it would be bad form."

"I understand." And she did… Nothing had changed here in the capital since she'd left.

"You do?"

"We have no way of knowing what would happen if we were to find ourselves behind closed doors…" she mocked, but wasn't sure they were picking up on the sarcasm. "Better not risk it… Where is this office?"

Shig pointed to a door a few steps away.

"Thank you." Zyra nodded and marched to it. She briefly considered burning down the door, but this was her workplace, and this was her first day. She'd see how it went from that day on, but today she wasn't destroying any property if she could help it.

She opened the door, startling a thin, mustached man scribbling something while enjoying a cup of tea. There was a second desk in the room, that was completely empty, waiting for the new teacher. Zyra pushed it out of the office with surprising ease and unbelievable noise, while the men just watched in disbelief.

"Here," she said, once her desk and the matching chair were both in the middle of the hallway. "Now that we're sure nothing inappropriate will be going on, are there any more objections?"

The teachers were silent.

"Well, in that case, gentleman, I'll be off to teach my class. Can any of you point me in the right direction?" She considered their stares. "Actually, I'll find it on my own."

**oooooooooo**

Azula sat in her desk looking around at the other girls in the classroom. They all diverted their gazes. Yes, it was definitely working. They all remembered who she was. _What she was…_

"The new teacher's late…" Mai said, disinterestedly.

"I'm aware." Azula didn't feel like snapping, but she just hated people stating the obvious.

"How long do you think this one will last?" She heard a voice from behind her. It was a whisper really, but not quiet enough.

"The way today's going, I give him till the end of the week. Maybe less."

Azula recognized them now. It was Blinker and Crooked. They thought they were far enough from Azula's ears, but clearly not.

"Yeah…" Blinker chuckled.

"I heard my mom say she knows a teacher who moved out of the city to not have to work here because of her," Crooked said.

"Azula, so can I come over after school?" Ty Lee clearly heard the girls too and tried to distract her friend before something bad happened again.

_Not everyone's as dumb as you, Ty Lee._

"I mean she's completely out of control," Blinker added.

"What did you just say?!" Azula stood up and turned. The two girls fell quiet. "No… Come on, say it now."

Still nothing.

Azula grabbed Blinker by her collar and pulled her up. The girl proved her nickname correct, by blinking about four times as often as humanly necessary.

"Azula, you're scaring away teachers and it's all of us who suffer for it." Crooked said.

_Oh?_

Guess, it was time for the next one of Ozai's lessons. Quelling rebellion.

Azula let go of Blinker and took a step back. "Come on, then. You and me, Agni Kai."

"No." Crooked recoiled.

Azula walked to the open part of the classroom, next to the board and turned back. "Not to the death, coward. Now, come on."

"I'm not going to fight you. Even if I win, your father would hurt me and my family." But the girl stepped into the open space to face Azula. She wanted to show everyone she was done being afraid. Azula knew she had to do something about that, and fast. She saw how everyone was looking at Crooked… The girl would have more than her crooked teeth to worry about after today.

Azula shoved her, but the girl stepped back and regained her balance.

"I order you to fight back!" Azula made a flame in one of her hands.

Crooked shook her head and closed her eyes to stop the tears that were already escaping. Azula extinguished her flame in anger and lunged forward, wrapping her hands around Crooked's throat.

"When I order something, you-"

"Stop that! Unhand her!" A firm voice came from the now open door to the classroom. Azula let go out of pure shock and then turned to find a woman she didn't know standing at the door, wearing a teacher's coat. The woman made her way to the two girls with a disapproving look, then put a hand on Crooked's shoulder. "What's your name?"

"Sora." Crooked managed through those ugly teeth.

"Go to your desk now." The woman turned to the Princess now. "And what is your name, young lady?"

"Azula."

Everyone in the room tensed as they realized this new woman didn't know. She had no idea she was speaking to the Princess, she just saw a misbehaving child. The girls were anxious about what Azula was about to do and she loved it.

"Well, Azula, what I just witnessed is unacceptable. Not just from you, but from everyone," the woman paused, looking around. "If you see a student being attacked by another student you don't intervene, but you don't stand and watch either. You go and find an adult to stop it. Am I being clear?"

Most of the girls nodded.

"Now this time, only Azula will get punished, but in the future-"

"Actually," Azula cut in. "It's Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai."

She watched as the woman's eyes widened in shock for just a fraction of a second before she summoned her composure back.

"That does not change what you did."

"Well, I'm not apologizing." Azula crossed her arms in defiance. Who even was this lady…?

"I won't make you. Forced apologies only teach children to lie more effectively." She dropped the suitcase she was carrying next to the teacher's desk. "You just earned yourself detention today."

The whole class stared at her unblinkingly.

Azula smirked.

"I don't get detention."

"I'm afraid that today you do. Now sit down." The woman gestured and Azula found herself obeying before she knew what was happening. There was no way this woman would get away with this.

"I'm sorry we had to start with something so unpleasant, but we can only work if everyone feels safe here… My name is Zyra Omori and I'm your new History teacher. Any questions?"

Azula chuckled.

She knew that family name. Omori. They were an old family and a rich one. In her mind, Azula associated it with a fat, clumsy man she saw on a few royal gatherings. But she'd never seen this woman. Azula studied her teacher as she walked to her slowly.

Zyra was definitely a noble. The way she carried herself, Azula knew only noble daughters were taught that. It was something every girl there had. Then Zyra stopped in front of her desk and she realized this woman might also have a military background. There was just something about her standing still, not to mention the fact that her long black hair was up in a braided bun. Trophy wives had their hair down…

"Azula, you may request I use your full title of _Your Royal Highness_ if you so wish, but all the rules here apply to you too." Zyra waited for an answer, but Azula wasn't planning on giving her anything more than an enraged stare.

**oooooooooo**

Azula went the rest of class without speaking, completely ignoring everything the teacher was saying. At first the rest of the girls were just as unresponsive, but they soon started having fun answering Zyra's questions, meant to determine how far they got with their previous teacher. Azula refused to speak up, even if she knew the answers.

"Does anyone know when the name _Earth Kingdom_ was first used?" Zyra asked the class next.

"1000 BG!" yelled Mouse, a grin on her face.

_Idiot…_

"Good guess, Amaya, but I was more looking for a relation to other events. We don't really know the actual year…"

_After the Muddy Rebellion._

"Anyone?" Zyra asked again, after getting no answer. "You didn't go over it then?"

"After Kyoshi's death?" Blinker said after being called upon.

"They called her Shield of the Earth Kingdom in her time… It's a dumb guess." Azula cut in, before realizing she's supposed to be ignoring them.

"I trust that a smart young girl like yourself can express her opinion without resorting to insults. You have an answer for me?" Zyra was smiling so much, it was getting Azula angry again.

"Immediately after the Muddy Rebellion," she answered with a little grin because she knew she was right. No one else knew. She was the best one there. But to her surprise, the teacher's face looked delighted, not angry, because of this.

"Now just tell me what caused the rebellion and you might get your first grade from me."

"Easy. The King ordered a lot of roads to be built to make the kingdom connected."

Crooked raised her hand and Zyra gave her a nod.

"They didn't rebel because they got roads. They rebelled because they had no rights and needed to pay enormous taxes," she finished, then looked smugly back at Azula.

"Interesting…" begun Zyra. "You see, class, Sora here gave the classic answer from the people's perspective, while Azula answered more from the ruler's perspective. What he could have done to stop what happened…"

"The King's father had the same taxes and rights system," Azula explained herself. "This King was soft and built roads to connect the peasants and provide them access to education."

"A noble effort, making your country better, wouldn't you say?" Zyra asked.

"Wasted effort. He got killed for his troubles. Uneducated, starving peasants don't rebel. But this King gave them just enough so that they'd want more."

"And if he gave them everything he could? What do you think would happen?"

"It would never happen. Someone in his court would kill him before, replace him with a ruler who knows how the system works." Azula was happy with the way she'd phrased that, and she wasn't at all surprised at the blank stares of the other girls there. No, what surprised her was that her teacher's face wasn't shocked or scared at what she'd said, but instead sad.

The bell rang in the distance, marking the end of the day. Everyone started getting up while Zyra yelled out a few details about tomorrow's lesson. Azula was almost at the door when the woman blocked her way.

"Detention, remember?" Zyra said.

"Not happening." Azula smiled. "I have a driver and a carriage waiting to take me to the palace."

"I'll tell them to wait."

**oooooooooo**

"Professor Omori, I just don't think you realize-" the Math teacher tried.

"No, you don't realize what you are doing…." Zyra stood her ground as a group of other teachers circled her.

"Azula. Is. The. Princess."

"I'm not disputing that. But she is also a nine-year-old child who's never been told _no_ and whose behavior is out of control. A child who effectively runs this school, because none of you will enforce the rules!" When she said that, they all diverted their gaze. "I will do it alone, if I have to…"

"Listen…" The headmaster stepped forward. "You are not wrong, but before you do this, I want you to know you can get killed for crossing that child. It is not a rumor, people have disappeared from your position. I wish I was lying."

"I appreciate the concern, but I came to do a job. And I'll do it."

After saying that Zyra marched out of the building and found the only carriage still waiting outside. She explained the situation to the men, and they were surprised, but none of their orders directly contradicted this, so they agreed to wait.

"I am not doing it!" screamed Azula, as Zyra explained her punishment would entail helping her put up posters around the school. "That's what servants do! I'm not that!"

"Well, I'm sure if you really put your mind to it, you can manage it too." Zyra said, while calmly putting up a poster. "Like this."

"When my father hears of this… Did you know I can have you killed?" Azula asked, in a way a regular person would discuss going out for ice cream.

"Did you know I can have you in detention tomorrow? No threats, no insults. Posters." Zyra put up another one. "Now you're two behind. Come on."

"I'm not doing this! I said I'm not! You don't- I hate you! You'll pay for this! He'll kill you!" Azula went on screaming like this, eventually pushing Zyra back since she wasn't reacting to the tantrum in any way. She just waited. Waited until Azula stopped moving, until her screams turned into no more than roars and huffs.

"I understand you're upset, but this _is_ supposed to be punishment," Zyra started, calmly. "Now whatever you do we are going to be here until we finish this. It's in your interest to start soon."

Azula raised her clenched fist over the pile of posters.

"If you burn those, I'll find something longer for us to do." Zyra threatened and Azula sighed, picked up a poster and put it up in silence.

"It is punishment, but it doesn't have to be torture." Zyra continued with her pile of posters. "We can sing something while we work. Or maybe talk history some more. I think your views are very interesting. Especially, for a girl so young."

"Zyra?"

"Miss Omori, please."

"About what I said…"

"Yes, Azula?"

"I meant it all."

**oooooooooo**

_**Now about the dedication, I'll put one in for every chapter, each for one of the few good teachers I had throughout my life.**_

_**Anyway, Zyra will probably be my only OC in this story. Only important one, that is.**_

_**I'm sorry about the title though, it'll make more sense later in the story, but not a lot more. I do a lot of things well in my life, but naming things is not one of those.**_

_**So, I'll try to post every few days, and right now my plan is to have six chapters total. If you like how this started and are interested take the time to leave a review :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**To a truly amazing History teacher who always played us a movie**_

_**when we were having a hard day…**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Here I am with more of THIS…**_

_**I'm actually having way too much fun writing something set in a school, even if I am usually only following the characters during one of the classes. Unlike wars, robberies and other stuff I usually write about this is something I've actually experienced.**_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoy it :)**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 2**

"We need to find a way to make her pay."

It was the first thing Azula said to her friends when they saw each other the next morning.

"Make who pay?" Ty Lee asked, genuinely lost.

"The History teacher, Miss Omori," Mai explained.

"We need to show her she can't just come here and decide how things work..."

"Yeah, that's your job, Azula."

Both Mai and the Princess rolled their eyes.

"Maybe I'm missing something," started Mai. "But can't you just, like, tell your father and he'll take care of her?"

"I can, but he's not home right now. He's at the front, solidifying his claim to the throne."

"What claim? He's the Fire Lord. It's done."

Azula didn't feel like explaining the intricacies of ruling to them right that second so she ignored the question. "What is certain, is that I don't know when he'll be back."

"So you can't do anything?" A small smile formed on Mai's lips.

"I can do plenty! You'll see… We'll do it together."

"What's the plan then, Azula?" Ty Lee asked with blind faith that it'd be a good one just because Azula came up with it.

The Princess though back to her father's lessons again.

"Guerilla warfare."

"What about gorillas?" Mai wanted to roll her eyes at Ty Lee's question, but found herself no less confused.

"It's what you do when you're faced with a stronger and more organized enemy. It's mostly clever and targeted sabotage." Azula was currently half-way through a book on the phenomenon. In truth, she didn't even understand why she kept reading it, since the Fire Nation would never find itself at such a disadvantage.

"So you want to annoy her into leaving?" Mai asked.

"I'm not criticizing your ideas, I would never do that, but can't you just… Set her on fire?" Ty Lee suggested. "It worked last time…"

"I could. But it's getting boring… I want to do this."

Azula did not plan on telling them she didn't want to get caught doing this. Partly because she refused to be dragged into detention another time and partly because her father told her to talk to him when one of her teachers was incompetent, not to act on her own.

**oooooooooo**

"She's late," announced Chubs from her desk in the back of the classroom.

"Again," Blinker added.

There was a short silence and one by one all the girls turned to look at Azula.

"Or maybe she's not coming at all," she said with a smile on her face. Zyra Omori wasn't dealt with for good, but she was dealt with for today, so Azula would enjoy it. Enjoy their scared stares on her, imagining what the teacher was going through right now…

Miss Omori burst through the door, half of her hair, her face and her coat covered in light green paint. She was nervously patting the coat with a cloth, trying and partly succeeding in getting the paint out, while she paid no attention to the color in her hair.

The room broke into chatter, everyone had a question about this and Azula put on her best fake surprised face. She predicted the woman would go home if the trap worked, but she was happy she got to see the results of it up close. It looked terrible.

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine… I had an accident." Miss Omori threw the dirty cloth away. "I'm just sorry I ruined my school issued coat."

"But your hair…" Mouse pointed.

"Yeah, I realize… It'll come off. I hope."

"What happened?" Ty Lee asked, pretend like she was innocent. Azula just hoped she wouldn't give it all away.

"It isn't important… We should get started with the aftermath of the revolution." Miss Omori used her hand to check if the paint in her hair was still fresh. "At least this way, I'll keep your attention."

Some girls laughed, but Azula just rolled her eyes. Who did this woman think she was?

_And why did she seem so immune to everything?_

Azula ended up being more upset by her sabotage with the paint than Miss Omori was. The woman continued with the class as usual, cracking jokes and trying to include everyone. At one point, while describing a conflict between a Fire Nation roque state and the Earth Kingdom, she used the paint to her advantage. She turned the green side of her face to the class when she was talking from the Kingdom's point of view, and the other when she was representing their opponents.

The class loved it, Ty Lee clapped at almost everything the teacher said, and Azula was almost sure she saw Mai smile at one of the jokes.

"That's when we decided to take their capital!" Miss Omori said in an exaggerated voice, showing her green side. "But what was its name again? Who will help?"

_South Najin…_

"Yes, Taka?" she called on Blinker.

"Khagol!"

"No…"

Some girls put down their hands, since that was obviously their answer. The next two guesses were wrong too and, even though it was usually beneath her, Azula raised her hand. It was just her and Crooked who still had ideas.

"Azula?"

"South Najin."

"No, sorry." The teacher turned to Crooked. "Sora?"

"It's correct," Azula persisted.

"It's a common mistake. The royal family declared their independence in South Najin, but then, for strategic reasons, moved the capital to…" She pointed at Crooked.

"Tanchon."

"Yes."

"It's not true!" the Princess insisted.

"Azula, some of my ancestors are from there. Believe me, I know the history." Miss Omori still looked amused. It absolutely enraged Azula. "I said it in class yesterday."

"Like you couldn't be wrong! I read about it last night. It's South Najin."

Miss Omori agreed to check, and moved to her desk to open the book describing the war, when the two girls followed her. Azula wanted nothing more than to be right about this. She needed it. She watched as their teacher flipped through the pages.

"Here it is," The woman stopped finally. "Sora's right."

Azula shoved her way to read the words for herself. Unbelievable! She'd read the same book last night… She must have mixed up the two places. But how?! She didn't mix things up. She didn't forget! And she was _not_ bested by ugly-toothed freaks like Crooked.

She must have been letting her feelings show, because Azula soon realized some of the girls were smiling, watching her stand there at the front of the classroom, completely humiliated. Crooked flashed her horrible smile.

"But we all had a very productive day today," begun Miss Omori. "And that's why I'll let you leave early for lunch. Come on, you're free…"

Hearing that, all the girls stood up and started walking to the door, chatting amongst each other. Crooked started making her way to her best friend, smile still on her face, but Azula tripped her over her foot and the girl fell flat on her face.

"Azula!" The teacher jumped forward to help Crooked up. "Detention, again! Sit on my chair and wait for me."

Azula reluctantly obeyed while the rest of the girls cleared out, all giving Azula judgy looks.

_You'll be looking at me with more respect once this one's gone…_

She vowed to herself one more time to get rid of both Miss Omori and Crooked once her father was back. He'd believe her. She'd make him believe her…

Even after a few minutes Azula could still see Miss Omori talking to Crooked in the hall. The girl was waving her hands, explaining something passionately with tearful eyes. Spinning lies probably… And this idiot teacher would almost surely take her side.

Azula tried to keep her expression neutral as the woman walked back into the classroom and kneeled next to where she was sitting.

"Why can't you leave that girl alone?" Miss Omori asked in the gentlest tone of voice Azula'd ever hear being used at her. She didn't even know how to react to it. "You have a crush or something?"

"I- Why can't she leave _me_ alone?!" Azula's words came out sounding more pathetic than she wanted them too.

"There are more important things in life, than being the best, or the smartest, or the strongest... And if you weren't trying to choke her every other day, I think you and Sora could be great friends."

Azula scoffed.

"Really. You two are the best students here. If you let it, you might actually find talking to her interesting."

"I already have friends." Azula pushed the teacher's suggestion away, especially, because it was starting to make sense.

"You can never have too many…" The teacher paused for a second and then took the history book from the desk into her hands. "And do you know why I carry this with me? Because even I can't remember every single fact from here in every situation. You shouldn't expect yourself to be able to."

She waited for an answer from Azula then, but got none.

"Well, that's it. That's what I wanted to say… You can go now. See you in detention, for the last time hopefully."

**oooooooooo**

But it wasn't the last time…

It became a daily thing in the upcoming two weeks. Azula's detention included more posters, some alphabetizing of books and cleaning out a cluttered room. She'd handled them with more grace after the first time, but she still threatened Miss Omori she'd pay for it every time. The woman never seemed fazed in the slightest.

It seemed like everything at school was changing. One day, Tremors bumped into Azula accidently and didn't even give it a second thought, let alone be afraid of the consequences. The Princess was losing control, or rather realizing she'd lost it somewhere in the last two weeks.

The worst time, without question, was during lunch. Miss Omori removed Azula's right to a separate table for her and her friends. At first no one wanted to join them anyway, but soon girls came and sat by Ty Lee or Mai, starting up conversations. And it wasn't just that, the other tables… Girls chattered loudly, laughed and squealed, not having to worry about making themselves a target. Mouse, who was always incredibly quiet, hummed a melody while eating her food.

Azula was about to complain about it to Ty Lee when she saw the girl was turned away from her, clapping her hands together with Chubs to the rhythm of some nursery rhyme, while Nasal braded her hair. On the other side, Mai seemed to be telling a funny story to Bones. Azula couldn't eat anymore, watching that. She left the table in silence, and wasn't sure if her friends, if anyone, noticed. She went back to the classroom to wait for recess to be over. At least she could have some peace and quiet there. She probably wasn't allowed to do it, but it didn't matter. She'd already earned detention that day, by setting fire to school property. Little did the teacher know she was aiming at Blinker…

Azula tried analyzing her fall from power but came up shorthanded. She just didn't understand why the techniques she learned from her father hadn't worked. It should have worked! They should respect her, she was still a princess! They should adore her! They should listen to her!

Her thoughts were interrupted when Miss Omori walked into the classroom.

"Here you are…"

Azula got up to walk out, but then saw the woman had no intention of stopping her or forbidding it. Then she turned back towards her. "Why do you hate me?!" It came out angrier than Azula intended. "Ever since you came here, you worked as hard as you could to ruin everything for me!"

"Azula… I don't hate you. I am you. Or I _was_ you…" The woman stopped for effect and Azula's eyes drifted to the still slightly green part of her hair. "Good family, unbelievable talent, potential, power… And the cruelty, entitlement, isolation… It doesn't lead anywhere good, I can promise you. I want to help you not be like that."

Oh, how original… Someone who thought there was something _wrong_ with her. Azula was beginning to realize that was most people, they were just too cowardly to voice it. But it was their problem, they just couldn't recognize greatness even when it was staring them in the face.

"I have something for you." Miss Omori reached into her bag, which Azula considered setting ablaze just minutes before. The woman pulled out a worn-out book and handed it to the Princess. It was a History textbook.

"Why?"

"I thought you and Sora might be interested in some extra work. You both excel at what we go over in class, I thought you'd appreciate a challenge. We can even discuss some things together, all three of us." Then the woman's face changed, like she hated what she was about to say next. "It's the book the Boys' Academy uses."

Azula didn't ask why theirs was more advanced, she knew why.

"How did you come by this?"

"Oh, it isn't hard if you have the right family name and say your imaginary son is enrolled there..."

"You… Stole the books?" Azula couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was not hiding her surprise well.

"I took it from people who don't think daughters deserve the same level of education as sons do. If I'd stolen a hundred books, we still wouldn't be even for what they're doing…"

"Alright. I'll do the extra work."

"Good… We'll see how you girls like it and next year maybe we can get them for the whole class." Miss Omori beamed. "I suppose it'll be even easier to be inconspicuous when you don't have green hair."

**oooooooooo**

"Last wall today." Azula noticed as she waited for Miss Omori to find her a brush. They both stood in a completely empty room with three freshly painted white walls and one somewhere between grey and yellow.

"Are you sure we'll finish today?" Miss Omori handed her a brush, but a small one, barely thicker than a toothbrush.

"You have to be joking…"

"Afraid not. I'm running out of errands around here you could do… And unless you want garbage duty, I suggest we make this one last longer."

Azula flashed one of her glares her way, then took the brush and got to work painting the wall. She wondered silently if so much work with paint was a sign that Miss Omori really did know who panted her green that one day. Neither Azula nor her friends ever got punished for it. She hoped that if the woman really did know, Mai and Ty Lee would be here, applying paint right by her side.

"So did you get a chance to read something from the book?" Miss Omori asked after a few silent seconds of painting. "Sora did. But she says the vocabulary is a bit much for her…"

"Aren't you eager to start using this office?" Azula asked.

"When did I say this was going to be my office?"

"You didn't. I deduced it, since you work in the middle of the hallway and this room was used for storage of things no one wanted." If she had to pick the worst part of her detention experience, it had to be while they carried out the old, useless rubbish from the room.

"It was actually given to me to serve as an office, but I have other plans for it when we're done. We'll turn it into a library."

Azula chuckled. "Why?"

"It's not funny. I was transferred from this school, when I was a bit younger than you. I was given an opportunity to go to the Boys' Academy. They have a library. A comprehensive one."

Azula then considered complaining to her father about that. Maybe she could get him to invest in the school. He could do anything, sure he could make them buy some books… But would he want to? After considering it Azula concluded he'd just send her to the better school. It was easier for him, but for her… She'd lose her friends. She already felt like she was losing them anyway.

"I suppose you can steal some more books…" Azula jabbed.

"No, I'll purchase them. I'm not a Princess, but with my family's money, it shouldn't be a problem."

Azula had a couple of comebacks to that. She could say that people are supposed to earn money on a job, not spend it. Or she could ask why the woman was even working here if she was as rich as she said.

"Even strokes, Azula. Don't get distracted." The teacher corrected and Azula stopped to push back her sleeves before going back to work faster than before.

Zyra was about to compliment the change of pace when she noticed them. Fresh bruises up the girl's right arm. The woman knew she should have asked about it casually, but Azula caught her staring very intently at her arm.

"Where'd you get those?" There was nothing to do then but ask.

Azula pulled her sleeve down, hating the fact she forgot they were there.

"Azula, you do know no one is allowed to hurt you, right? No matter who they are, no matter what you did."

"I know, I know… Because I'm the Princess…"

"Because you're a human being!"

"Alright. It's from training." Azula couldn't believe how worked up the woman got. If she could see her ribs… "You wouldn't understand."

"I'm a bender. Let me see, please." Zyra put out her hand, but Azula just stared back at her full of doubt. The woman made a little flame in her palm to prove her claims and only then did Azula put out her arm. "I don't know what kind of training you're doing. But this isn't normal."

"It's my non-bender combat teacher. Father told him he was going too easy on me, and that I'd never learn that way."

Zyra imagined a grown man hitting a nine-year-old while calling it teaching and it made her want to go steal something. Or possibly set something on fire.

"Whoever he is," she spoke after a pause. "You tell him the Omori family sends a warning. There will not be another."

Azula wasn't entirely sure if she was joking or not.

"Unusual. It's the firebending teachers that have a reputation of having uncontrolled tempers." Zyra went back to painting. She suspected it would help Azula relax.

"Well, not mine. I have two and they're both non-benders." Azula got back to work as well.

"Their names wouldn't happen to be Lo and Li?"

"Yes…"

"They're still teaching?" Zyra chuckled. "You know, my father thought he was mocking me, punishing me, by giving me non-bender teachers. But they are the best… They know their stuff. I was doing nothing but quoting them when I tried to teach firebending."

"I don't know about best…" Azula really wasn't sure they were speaking about the same old crows.

"Oh, do you know about their mother? She was the best female firebender, maybe ever, and she taught them everything… You should ask them about that, it's very interesting."

Azula thought about it and realized she knew nothing about the women, despite the fact they spent so much time together every day.

"You get to this line." Zyra made one on the wall near the Princess. "And you're done for today."

"Why? Just because we had the same teachers?" Azula wasn't exactly sure why she was questioning it.

"Because this punishment was for bad behavior and you are now exhibiting good behavior. Well… Normal behavior. You haven't insulted me since we started. No threats…"

It was partly true. Zyra was noticing slight improvements in how the Princess behaved around her, but it wasn't yet what a normal teacher would call enough. The reason she suddenly felt bad for the little girl was her own childhood. She suddenly remembered how hard it was to learn firebending, or any martial art at that age. You worked at it day and night, were always in pain, or at least sore and tired, and it was never fast enough. And if anyone felt that pressure it was this girl.

Zyra got slightly mad at herself, thinking she made Azula carry things or stand and paint for hours while being in pain or hurt. The girl would surely never talk about it. The nobility loved to teach their women to bite their tongue early.

"Hey, Azula!" a voice came from the door. Azula turned and saw Crooked, Blinker and Tremors where she expected Mai and Ty Lee. What was this? Had Zyra called them?

"Taka forgot her bag, so we had to go back." Crooked offered as an explanation for why they were in the school, not here in this room.

"Better hurry before your parents worry," Zyra said in a tone that was less than cheerful, which was unusual for her.

"We wanted to see how you were doing, Azula, since we were here…" Tremors said.

"Nice… Brush!" Blinker added and all three of them burst into laughter.

Azula was ready to start yelling and threatening when she caught Zyra looking at her. She wasn't sure why she cared about what the woman thought, but she didn't want to fight with them in front of her. But she did want to fight them…

"And what will this be?" Crooked asked.

"Maybe a cell for misbehaving kids?" Tremors asked meaningfully.

"A library," Azula said, her tone harsh, but without raising her volume. "It's a place you come to read books. You wouldn't understand…"

"With how much work you've put in, Azula, they could name it after you," Crooked said, with a snare. "How many hours did you spend here at this point?"

"Since you girls are showing such interest in the work, why don't you join?" Zyra cut in before the conversation got uglier. Azula watched as all three girls' smiles disappeared.

"No…"

"We really…"

"No need."

"Really. I insist." They had no time to protest, Miss Omori was already handing them three identical brushes, as small as Azula's. "Azula can show you how it's done." The woman then turned to the Princess and winked. "She only has a few minutes left, but you girls will stay and help me, won't you?"

The girls took the brushes reluctantly, Tremors and Blinker glaring slightly at Crooked, since it must have been her idea to come and gloat. Azula tried and failed to hide her satisfaction at the turn of events.

**oooooooooo**

After all those weeks Azula wasn't quite sure what she thought about Miss Omori, but one thing that was clear was that their History lessons had never been better. The woman was many things, but first and foremost a very good teacher.

Her father would undoubtedly return soon, and she could finally tell him about being put in detention. She wanted that since the very first day she crossed paths with the teacher, but Azula was having doubts. It was very unlike her, but honestly a lot of things she was doing lately were a lot unlike her.

"And please make sure you do the assignments because I will be checking them next week," Zyra repeated for those who were drifting off a bit, before sitting down at her desk and cleaning off the paint from her cheek. The rest of the girls loved that one class where she had paint on one of her sides so much, Zyra started painting her cheeks with different flags' colors every time she had to explain a complicated conflict.

Azula didn't find it necessary, she actually found it rather silly, but the rest of the class seemed to be enjoying it and actually remembering things because of it. The Princess found herself with a lot more competition than usual.

The bell sounded and everyone cleared out. Azula was in a hurry, but before she could disappear through the door, she heard Miss Omori's voice.

"Azula, could you stay behind, please?"

No, this couldn't be happening… But she obeyed, because what else was she to do. She watched as everyone else slowly left the room, and as Ty Lee closed the door after her with an uneasy face. But for the first time, Azula didn't know what it was about either.

"I didn't get detention today. Doesn't that mean I can leave?"

"You can. I just want to talk to you first." Miss Omori said as she stood up and gestured for Azula to step closer. The Princess was sure it would be one of her life _lessons_, that were getting more and more common by the day.

"As you know, I just recently returned to Capital City. I didn't even recognize you as the Princess at first, but lately I've been catching up and…" Zyra paused. "I only found out this morning that your mother went missing a month back." She saw the girl's mask of apathy melt away before her eyes. "If I'd known the violence, the disobedience, that it all had a cause, I wouldn't have been so hard on you. I stand by my rules, but I understand if you need some time to get back to normal. I'm sorry I didn't take an interest sooner."

"I don't care she left." Azula attempted to sound indifferent, but her eyes were brimming with tears. "My mother has nothing to do with what I do… I'm happy she left!"

"Azula, I don't know the situation, but I'm sure your father is doing everything in his power to find her…"

"That's right, you don't know anything!" Azula shoved Zyra back, not really with any force, just to express her anger. "Here, now punish me! Give me detention…" Or maybe to prove a point. "She isn't missing, she's dead to me! You don't know… She was horrible and I hated her, and she hated me! And I'm so lucky she left…"

"You're just angry, but you don't mean that…"

"I do! It's better if she's gone and I've already forgotten about her… I never needed her anyway!"

For the first time since meeting Azula, Zyra felt out of her depth. She wasn't a psychiatrist, and she didn't have nearly enough experience with children to help now.

"I think you need to talk about it to get through it." She managed to keep her calm tone. "I'm here if you need me at any time. Or maybe you'd prefer someone who knew her…"

Instead of screaming Azula swung a fire fist at Zyra. The woman stopped it with ease, but the girl kept attacking. She kept firebending frantically, without strategy, not really wanting to hit the woman, but continuing anyway. Soon tears started draining from the girl's eyes as the fire from her fists died out, but she kept punching.

"Azula…" Zyra started, her voice not strict, but sad. The girl didn't respond, just kept throwing punches, until suddenly, and very much unexpectedly, the violence turned into a tight hug around the woman's waist. Azula sobbed quietly, but audibly into the red fabric of the teacher's coat and Zyra instinctively hugged back. She didn't dare say anything, for fear it may make Azula pull away, so she just held her and stroked her hair while she waited for the crying to end.

**oooooooooo**

_**So my girl Zyra stays, of course, because Azula needs a positive female influence in her life.**_

_**I actually came up with this idea a while back, when the teachers in my country were all on strike. It kind of hit me how we should all be more thankful for the good ones (who are sadly the minority in my experience).**_

_**Anyway, as you can see, I really liked the idea of Azula not really referring to the girls by their names in her mind, instead using nicknames based of their biggest flaw in her opinion. I felt it kind of goes well with her whole thing about perfection. If you're not perfect, then you're supposed to be defined by your imperfection.**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Julyza**__** – As you probably noticed, I'm putting off the parent-teacher meeting because I want to enjoy the set-up some more before that, but I promise it's coming.**_

_**And thank you so much :)**_

**_JHLZ. NTL _**_**– Yeah, this wasn't originally supposed to be about gender roles at all, but the concept of single-gender schools just irks me, and I don't plan on controlling myself here.**_

_**Anyway, thanks, your comments always mean a lot :)**_

_**And I wrote some stuff since you last commented so if you're interested while you wait for me to continue this…**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**To a legendary Math teacher who brought out the very best in me…**_

**oooooooooo**

_**I have returned with more Azula in school adventures/moral lessons (cause she needs them).**_

_**Thanks to everyone following this so far :)**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 3**

For the next four days Azula managed to stay out of detention. Zyra had to admit, she did cut the girl some slack here and there, some mouthed comments during class she pretended not to hear, but other than that the effort was there. The fifth day, however, the girl shoved a classmate so hard the smaller girl almost tumbled down the stairs. Zyra had to act then, so her and Azula were back where they'd started in the, now completely painted, empty room.

"I really hoped we wouldn't be spending time here again until the library was opened."

"What do we do now?" Azula asked, looking at the floor.

Zyra hadn't mentioned what happened when she asked about the girl's mother, but she had been thinking about it. Even more that that, tying to get more information from other sources so she'd be ready if the girl decided to confide in her. But Azula hadn't. Hadn't mentioned it, hadn't spoken to Zyra, hadn't looked her in the eye too much even.

"Something a little different, a longer project."

"Longer than painting the room?"

"Probably." Zyra drew out three sheets of paper. "We'll take one of these paintings and paint a bigger version of it on this wall."

"A wall painting? Why?"

"To brighten up the room. This is a kids' school."

Azula rolled her eyes, but Zyra didn't hold it against the girl. "Fine…"

"You get to choose which one."

Azula unsurprisingly chose the least colorful painting, showing a sunset over a vast landscape. Zyra knew she wasn't much of a painter, but she was ready for a challenge and she was sure Azula would relax a bit, laughing at her silly drawing skills. This was supposed to be punishment, yes, but the girl had been through enough lately.

"First, we'll draw the outline with this and then we'll add color. It'll be easy… I'll go get the paints." And with that Zyra left to raid the art supplies closet. The school's supplies were a joke in this regard. She made a mental note to resupply it with her own money. "I just realized we don't have any green, so we'll just have to mix some yellow and…" She returned to the soon-to-be library only to find Azula was almost finished with the outline. "Blue."

"What? Is it bad?" Azula asked, standing in front of an almost exact sketch of the painting they were trying to recreate.

"No, it's absolutely amazing… But Azula," Zyra managed to drag her eyes from the wall and to the girl. "I meant to do that. I just wanted you to mix colors for me. I didn't know you were good at drawing…"

Azula kept her face still, but her eyes betrayed her and sparked at the compliment. "I'm not. It's a useless skill."

"Well, it's useful here. I can't do that… You maybe want to paint this, while I mix the colors?"

Azula just shrugged and carried on drawing the lines of a perfect tree. Then, after making a few more adjustments that seemed unnecessary to Zyra, the girl took up one of the brushes and started painting the downmost edge of the wall. After watching it happen for a few minutes, Zyra couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"And you're sure you never practiced this?" she asked.

"Not really… At least not recently. I used to do some painting when I was a child." The girl only got a stare as a response. "Alright, when I was a _younger_ child."

"Well, I think you should try it from time to time. See how good you can get with practice. Maybe even find a tutor."

The girl chuckled then, refreshing the paint on her brush. "A painting tutor? My father would lose it… I mean… Can you imagine? You can't."

"It's not such a crazy idea. Maybe you'd enjoy it." _No one would hurt you in those lessons_, Zyra had to stop herself from saying.

"I probably wouldn't. It sounds like a waste of time… I'm a Princess and drawing won't help me serve my nation. It won't help us win the war."

_But it could help you feel happier_.

There was some silence, while Zyra tried to get the shade of green exactly right for the grass.

"Thank you for not… Making a big deal out of Tuesday," Azula whispered, but made sure Zyra heard her. Tuesday. The day the little Princess collapsed into her arms and sobbed.

"Of course not. But I still stand by what I said. I'm here if you want to talk."

"I don't. Really." The girl diverted her gaze. "That was just a one-day blunder, I'm fine. I won't do that again."

"Azula, out of all the things I saw you do and say, that is definitely not the one you should be embarrassed of. It's perfectly normal." Zyra reached out and touched her shoulder. "I promise you."

"Well, I'm not upset anymore. I think that it's over now, I don't need to talk. My brother is the one who's taking it hard." The girl paused slightly there, like she wasn't going to continue, but did it anyway. "Every night, I hear him crying."

**oooooooooo**

Azula caught herself looking forward to working on the painting with Miss Omori. Looking forward to their talks too. The woman tried to ask about her mother, about Zuko and her friends, but they mostly talked about history. Azula read the new textbook she'd gotten cover to cover once already. She'd managed even though it took a lot of late-night reading under the light of her firebending. The teacher never shuddered at Azula's ideas or thoughts, even the ones that were particularly violent or merciless… She only offered a counter opinion, sometimes just smiled to herself. Azula even tried saying some truly heartless things, it wasn't hard to come up with them, she'd just quoted her father, but the woman still didn't look shocked, just offered her opinion.

The more time they spent together, the less Azula felt the need to challenge the woman in the classroom, so she stayed out of detention for a few consecutive days. Then one day Ty Lee tried a new hairstyle with two braids instead of one. Azula'd told her she didn't like it, and Ty Lee went to sit elsewhere during class. It was because of Miss Omori that she dared to do that without fearing the consequences. Azula wasn't just losing power there, it was nearly gone. Once Ty Lee had left, Azula heard Crooked and Chubs talking about Ty Lee's hair and chuckling. At least there was still one power she had. Azula set the fat girl's desk on fire and lied that she was aiming for her head.

Once she got to detention, Azula discovered Miss Omori had been working on the painting without her. She then insisted the addition wasn't good and made the woman paint over it in white. Azula tried to ignore it, but she couldn't. She cared about this stupid painting and she wanted to come to this room every day.

That's why the day after, when History class was almost over and she still hadn't gotten detention that day, she tripped Mouse over her foot as the girl was passing her desk for no reason. The day after that she called Crooked a low-born imbecile. And the day after that, she made Mouse cry by commenting on her singing voice.

"I know what you're doing, you know…" Miss Omori said one day, as Azula was painting the slight details of the water surface on the wall.

"I'm not really good at reflections, but I'm trying to make it-"

"What I meant was… You don't need to torture Amaya every day if you want to come here and paint." Amaya. That was Mouse…

"But this is punishment. It's not enjoyable, I just want to finish it as quickly as possible."

"Is that so?" After the teacher watched her work on a piece of the painting the size of a nail for fifteen minutes and with three separate brushes, Azula wasn't sure he strategy would work. "Then you wouldn't mind arranging those boxes over there as your punishment while _I_ paint?"

"Not at all." Azula lied and handed over her brush. She watched from a distance as Miss Omori chose the exactly wrong shade of blue and slowly moved her hand towards the wall. "Alright, alright!" She took the brush out of the woman's hand. "I like it," she whispered and sat back down next to the teacher.

"Then we agreed. You won't do bad things just for the sake of doing bad things and you can come here and paint with me every day."

"I can't, you don't understand… I have tutors waiting for me at home, I can't delay them without a good reason."

"Azula, you are nine years old. Having fun is a good reason. Relaxing also is." The woman took her brush to get her attention. "If you told them you wanted to stay, I don't think anyone would have anything to say about it."

_My father would_. The Fire Lord returned to the capital two days ago and Azula still hadn't told him about Miss Omori. About detention. At first, she waited for him to ask why she returned so late, but he didn't. So she thought about going to talk to him, but then realized if she did, the face-painting in class would stop, there would be no more extra work and books, and definitely no more painting.

"I can't…"

"I guess, we could say that I'm punishing you for something you did while we were alone." Hearing that Azula immediately nodded. "But if we're doing that you have to really behave the rest of the day. I mean that."

"Alright." Azula nodded again and the teacher returned her brush. "Thank you."

"I find out you did something to Amaya or Sora or any of your other _regulars_ in other classes and-"

"Fine!" Azula rolled her eyes. Like she was a wild animal or something… "What if one of them is making fun of me?" _Or my friends?_

"Then you tell me."

"What if they attack me, now that I've shown weakness?"

The woman chuckled until she saw the seriousness in Azula's face. "Of course, you can defend yourself, but you cannot attack them first. But they're not going to do that…"

Another nod. Then Azula remembered. "What if you find out about something I did before this deal?"

Miss Omori turned from the paints to stare at her. "What did you do?"

"Hypothetical."

"Don't give me that… Come on, no consequences."

"Mai, Ty Lee and I, we were responsible for the green paint incident." Azula confessed and waited for a reaction. The teacher just buried her head in her hands, only a laugh escaping them for the next several seconds.

"I may owe Mr. Akagi an apology…" The woman finally managed.

"What?"

"I was so sure it wasn't you… It didn't really seem like your style at all. I just assumed it was one of the other teachers, and the one with access to the art supplies seemed like the obvious choice."

"What did you do?"

"I really shouldn't…" The woman thought about if for a second. "Let's just say _someone_ dunked some pretty strong glue into his bag." Azula let out a short laugh. "Every day for a week."

Azula was sure teachers weren't supposed to do that. Or adults. Or proper ladies.

"Well, don't tell him it was you," Azula said and got another laugh out of the woman. "Why would he even do it?"

Miss Omori got back to mixing her colors. "Some of the teachers had a problem with me teaching here because I'm a woman, I thought they were trying to scare me away. One of them even wrote to my brother to get me out of here…"

"Why?"

"Those matters are a bit complicated, but you're a smart girl so I should at least try… You know, we raise boys and girls entirely differently, we separate them until they're men and women and then we're surprised when they have no idea how to act around each other."

Azula nodded because that made sense. Most of what Miss Omori had to say made sense, whether Azula wanted to admit it or not. Except one thing…

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, still looking at the painting.

"What?"

"The book and _no consequences_ and… Everything."

"I just… Care. About everyone here. That's what teachers are supposed to do, care."

"No, they're supposed to have knowledge of a specific subject, that's it."

"You girls are still young, almost anyone can teach you addition. People should only do this if they really care. Care about you growing into smart, kind and strong young women."

"Then shouldn't you still be punishing me with things I don't like?"

"Would you like me to?" The teacher smiled.

"You can do that all you want, I'll never be _kind_," Azula said the last word with such disgust, that it made the woman's smile widen.

"Recently, I thought about it and I realized I can't use my authority to make your life horrible, if I want you to stop using your authority to make other people's lives horrible. I realized I needed to try harder to understand why you do it."

"It's not my mother! I told you-"

"I know." Miss Omori put a hand on her shoulder and Azula immediately calmed. "I believe you. I think you do it to get some fear inspired loyalty. Am I close?"

_Spot on._

Azula turned her head away. "Doesn't matter. I lost it."

"And why do you think they listen to me?"

"You're an adult. You're our teacher…"

"Did they listen to the other History teachers? Or did they listen to you?"

Azula turned back violently, a small smirk on her lips. "Because they were weaklings, some of them even-"

"And you think I'm stronger?" The woman paused. "You want your people to be loyal to you, you have to be loyal to them. You're a princess and you'll be a great military mind one day, it would do you good to remember that."

"So they listen to you because you saved them from me…"

"And I never had to use fear. You're almost the only person I've had to punish."

"But you've still had to be strong. A coward can't do what you did."

"Yes, that is exactly what strength is about. It's cowardly to torture someone weaker than you. It may make you feel strong in the moment, but the truly strong protect those weaker than they are."

And as Azula thought about that, she slowly started feeling embarrassed about a lot of things she'd been doing.

**oooooooooo**

Zyra wasn't sure if Azula really understood everything she was trying to convey to her, but one thing was for sure, she understood the part about following the rules from then on. During the next week, every time there was someone threatening the order, Azula was there to scare them into stopping. And there was a lot of rule breaking since after the removal of Azula as a threat, every one of the girls thought they could do whatever they wanted. It took Zyra till then to realize that class never got any discipline besides Azula's tyranny.

"21 BG," Mai answered. That was new, as well. Mai was actually rising her hand in class now that she didn't fear Azula's ridicule, and she was usually correct. Not this time, though.

"It's actually 12 BG," Zyra corrected. Her words were immediately followed by laughter from behind. Azula turned and shot Sora and her friends a deadly stare. Most of them quieted in an instant, but not Sora.

"What are _you_ going to do?"

Zyra was just about to step in when Azula said, "Do that again, and I'll gladly go to detention for you."

The girl rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet.

"After that revision," Zyra interrupted the tension. "I think we're ready to move on to the next lesson."

"Miss!" Amaya rose her hand and Zyra gave her permission to speak. "Can I get my face painted too today?"

It was a tradition and it appeared to be sticking, since the girls reminded Zyra to paint her face every time they were learning something new.

"I don't see why not." Zyra walked to the girl and started painting her cheek green. "You just have to remember to wipe it off before you leave. I don't know if the other teachers would approve."

**oooooooooo**

Zyra honestly enjoyed painting as much as Azula did. For the first week or so, she didn't do any actual painting, instead leaving it all to the girl as not to challenge her perfectionism. Then a few weeks in she asked Azula if she could teach her some things. The girl wasn't really thrilled about it at first, but found she liked telling someone older what to do.

"You're using the wrong brush again," Azula said, not even moving her eyes from her own work. Zyra hoped she wouldn't notice.

"I prefer that one. You can't even tell the difference."

"Maybe _you_ can't tell the difference, but I certainly can. It's sloppy. Switch."

"As my Princess commands…" Zyra mocked and shot Azula a quick smile. Since they were working on the higher parts of the painting now, the girl was standing on a chair, which made her stand taller than her teacher. It was a fact the princess noticed and enjoyed.

"And make longer strokes. Like-" Azula was in the middle of demonstrating when the chair under her feet wobbled. The girl managed to regain her balance, but Zyra jumped to steady her anyway. That's when they both saw it. Almost falling down, Azula drew a long brown line over a considerable part of the painting that was already finished.

Zyra wanted to immediately start saying how it wasn't a big deal, but she willed herself to stay still. She just watched as Azula took in what happened. As her fists clenched and tears started filling her eyes.

"It's ruined…" the Princess said, calmly at first, making Zyra think she might have worried in vain.

That's when the Princess started hitting the wall with her brush, drawing line after line, splattering the paint and smudging the parts that hadn't dried yet.

"Azula."

"It's ruined! It's all ruined and I ruined it! I'm so stupid!"

Zyra needed a way to calm the girl, a way to get her to just take a deep breath and listen. Nothing was coming to mind… Then she dipped her fingers in some red paint and gently smeared it over the girl's cheek in one quick motion.

Azula froze immediately and fixed her teary eyes on Zyra. The girl didn't say anything, just stared for a few moments, like she wasn't sure if she understood what happened, before taking her brush and painting a part of her teacher's face in a rage. Zyra retaliated with blue paint.

"You can't do that!" Azula screamed. "I'm a Princess!"

"It'll come off, Princess." Zyra moved slowly and placed the last bit of blue paint on the girl's nose before wiping her hand. "Things like that line, or this spot happen. Things get messy, problems escalate… You have to find a way to be okay with that. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Azula wiped her eyes, slowly turning back to look at the mess she made on the wall. It really was ruined now. The one line might have been salvageable, Zyra though, but what Azula did after wasn't.

"I can't believe we have to paint over the whole thing now. I… I'm sorry I'm so incompetent."

"Don't say that, Azula. You made this whole thing with minimal help from me."

"And I ruined it all on my own." Azula looked down and folded her hands. While it was an improvement the girl wasn't blaming anyone else, but seeing her fault, being this hard on oneself was never good.

"What if I told you I could fix it?" Zyra asked and took the girl's brush.

"I'd say you're delusional. I mean, look at it!" Azula said and watched for a few moments while Zyra connected some of the new brown lines. "What are you getting at?"

"It's going to be a tree."

Azula took a few steps back to see if she could picture it in her mind. "It'll look like garbage. It's no use. Might as well have a plain old white wall…"

"Hey! I worked hard, you worked harder, it's not going away because of a little accident. Now do you want to paint this tree over it, or should I keep going?"

"I'll do it." Azula took the brush and that's when Zyra remembered they both had paint on their faces.

"Deal. But let me clean this first." Zyra found a clean cloth and dunked it in water. While she wiped Azula's face, the girl wasn't successful in hiding her sniffling. She was really upset by this. Zyra felt compelled to say something again, even though she'd already reached that day's level of life advice with the girl.

"You think you'll fight on the front one day?"

"I know I will," Azula said. No doubt in her voice, no hesitation.

"Well, take it from me then, there are no do-overs out there. You make mistakes, you don't get to forget the whole thing, you have to keep going, fix what you did."

Azula pulled back hearing that, even though she still had a substantial red spot on her cheek. "But if you use your head, you can make a plan that-"

Zyra shook her head. "Plans don't really last long in war. That's why the best commanders I know are all resilient in their planning. They count on imperfection, they change strategies in a second given new information."

"You served?" Azula asked and Zyra nodded. "I knew it."

"How come?"

"Just… The way you walk sometimes."

Zyra was genuinely surprised to hear that. "There was this drill sergeant that didn't really like a noble girl in his camp, so he decided to give me a hard time about my posture. He thought I was jut there to prove a point… He was wrong, of course," She pulled the girl closer to clean the rest of her face. "I was only there because my best friend was."

"Did you let the sergeant have it?"

"I'll have you know, Princess, I wasn't some crazy vigilante. But to be fair, my friend and I did eventually try out the old scorpion-viper in boot trick on the sergeant."

"Did that kill him?"

"No, Spirits, he just whined like a baby about it for three days... It was my going away present, since I left the army soon after that. Not because of him, but because I didn't really have a high respect for the chain of command. It wasn't for me."

"You're getting my hair wet!" Azula pulled away once again.

"So? We'll let it out to dry for a while and-"

"No!" Azula dodged Zyra's hand when the woman tried to undo her top-knot. "We aren't supposed to have our hair completely down in school."

"I'm sure, given the circumstances-"

"No, I just… I don't like it down. People don't take me seriously that way."

"I'll take you seriously, Azula," Zyra tried, but it wasn't really working. "I'll tell you what, you let your hair down, I'll let mine down too."

"Okay," the little girl said after a while.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Zyra sighed deeply and drew several giant pins from her hair, before the braid uncoiled and fell down her back. It went down longer than her waist now, but she had no intention of cutting it. She undid the braid next and caught Azula with a surprised little glare.

"Your turn."

The girl turned around and Zyra undid her top-knot too. The girl's raven hair fell down a bit past her shoulders. As Azula turned back around a few strands of hair fell over her face.

"This is what I mean…" She tried to blow the strands away, but they fell right back down. "If you call me _cute_, I'll-"

"I won't." Zyra smiled. "You still look like the fierce young lady you are."

She handed the princess a brush.

"You know, I've never met someone with hair longer than my mother's. Why don't you cut it?"

"What? You don't like it?"

"No, no… It suits you for some reason. I just thought it'd be impractical."

"I just like it."

Zyra couldn't tell Azula the real reason, of course. She was just a child. She didn't need to know how they cut off all of Zyra's hair when her family disowned her and she was banished with shame.

**oooooooooo**

"And you all want your faces painted?"

The whole class nodded. Well, _almost_ the whole class…

"There's no way we have time for that," Azula said.

"You might be right about that…" Zyra started and the girls all sighed. "I'll tell you what, we'll be way quicker if I split the work. Azula, you could do half."

"What?"

"You're a pretty good artist, you could do half the face painting." Zyra waved for the girl to stand up. "Now, the rest of you separate into two lines."

Zyra's instructions were pretty clear, but when she looked up, all the girls were in a line in front of her, while Azula stood a few steps away, completely alone. No one was meeting her eyes.

"Girls, I promise you, Azula can do a much better job than I can. Give her a chance-"

Zyra truly felt bad seeing the look on the Princess' face. She'd been trying to be good, Zyra had seen it and rewarded it, but she couldn't make the other children do the same. Azula was their tormenter for so long, Zyra couldn't in good conscience make them accept her back. It was a part of learning how to be a good person, accepting that even though you did everything right you weren't entitled to anything. Other people weren't forced to appreciate it, or return it, or even forgive you for what you did before.

"I don't even want to do it," Azula said, and to the girl's credit, it almost sounded genuine. "I think it's a waste of time and that we have better things to do."

"Me and Mai want you to paint our faces." Ty Lee walked to Azula dragging Mai after her.

"Yeah, why not." Mai shrugged.

"Great. Anyone else?" Zyra looked at the other girls one by one.

_Oh, great and powerful Spirits, please…_

"I'll do it if I can go first." Amaya raised her hand. Everybody looked to her. She was the shortest girl in the entire class and Azula loved picking on her. She probably did so ever since they knew each other, yet this little girl strolled up to Azula without fear.

Zyra focused on doing her share of the painting then but stole the occasional glance over to the girls with Azula to check if everything was going smoothly. Surprisingly, she even caught them smiling one time since Azula's brush apparently_ tickled_. Once Azula was done with Amaya's face everyone stopped what they were doing to look.

"What? What is it?" Amaya asked, and Zyra handed her a little mirror. "It's… It's beautiful! I'm pretty now!"

The girl squealed. Azula had painted a simple, yet surprisingly gorgeous dragon on one of the girl's cheeks.

"Oh, I love him!" Amaya ran back to Azula. "Thank you! Could you paint another one on my arm later, so I never have to wash him off?"

Zyra didn't miss how the Princess' eyes glistened at the question and the praise.

"Yes, I could."

In a few seconds a lot of girls decided they wanted Azula to paint their face after all, and Zyra couldn't be happier to finally see them all interacting in a positive way. Azula even let each of them choose the color of their dragon.

However, it was a challenge to get all of their attention back afterwards to actually go over the lesson intended. Maybe this was the wrong day to start that tradition… But Zyra couldn't help herself sometimes. She couldn't resist making this place more fun for her students since it seemed everyone else was trying their best to make it as uninviting as possible with their strict rules and uniforms. No matter how much everyone liked to forget it, they were just little kids.

Once they finished their lesson, Zyra handed out wet cloths to everyone to wipe their face with.

"We have ten more minutes, I don't want to kill Smokey yet." Amaya whined.

"You named the dragon?" Taka chuckled, before Azula glared at her disapprovingly. "Cool, I guess…"

"I'm sorry, Amaya, but I will ask all of you to clean up now." Zyra came over and stroked the girl's hair. "Since our next topic really isn't festive in nature…"

"What are we doing next?" someone asked from the back.

"We finally came to the year 1 AG. Now, can anyone tell me what event marks the transition from 1 BG to 1 AG?"

Azula raised her hand and got a nod.

"Fire Lord Sozin's great defeat of the Air Nation's armies."

"Yes, that is what it says in your textbooks. In all the textbooks. But when I was your age, a friend of mine trusted me enough to tell me the truth. Since then I've verified it and, even though it's breaking a lot of rules, I'll now tell all of you." Zyra spared a glance at Azula, taking in the girl's confused expression. "When the Great Comet came Fire Lord Sozin used it to attack all the Air temples, that much is true, but there was no battle. The Air Nomads, they didn't have an army, weapons or a chance to surrender. The Fire Nation didn't come to win, conquer and hold, but to destroy." She stopped herself before she mentioned they slaughtered thousands of men, women and children. As she looked around at the young faces surrounding her, they all had some mix of fear and confusion.

"It's not true!" Azula yelled out, equally to herself and to the room. "It's not!"

"I know it might be hard to hear, but it is the truth. Just remember, what happened then is not our fault now. The Fire Lord today is not the Fire Lord then. We are not our ancestors and we can always do better."

**oooooooooo**

_**Azula's good at painting now… Sue me, okay, I think it's cute! And I love the idea of her having an artsy talent she basically hides because her father is…well, the worst. And I thought of singing first, but then I'd have to write song lyrics, and NO ONE wants that.**_

_**That's why the title is paint related… I was thinking about like **_**second coat of paint**_**, like painting over the screwed-up part of the painting and about like **_**second coat of paint**_**, like undoing what Azula's parents screwed up. Like a double meaning. But idk, don't give me stories to name… XD**_

_**Anyway, yeah, Azula's starts making amends. Detention is now a reward. We get some of Zyra's backstory, I'll probably get into that a lot more.**_

_**Half of this is out now, so good time for commenting, liking… *wink* *wink***_

_**This time the dedication's for a teacher that I had in high school for one year and she managed to raise our class average by one whole grade. Not because she was lenient, but because she did her fucking job and taught us Math. Still remember her whenever I have to find the limit of a function (which is far more often than I'd like). **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**To a strict Physics teacher for teaching me the value of hard work…**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 4**

Princess Azula was still young enough that she didn't have to deal with many dilemmas. But this one was destroying her. Usually, it was just a matter of counting pros and cons, but when feelings were involved… When you let feelings get involved. It got harder.

She didn't want Miss Omori gone anymore, she was sure of that. She wanted to see her punished even less. If only the woman hadn't said that. If only she didn't go breaking the Fire Lord's rules… If only she just kept her mouth shut like she taught Azula to do sometimes…

Azula couldn't just let it go. The woman insulted everything she held dear: her nation's history, her family's honor, her very sense of self. Fire Lord Sozin, her great grandfather, had always been her favorite. The way he won battles, how he changed the course of Fire Nation history while all his predecessors were useless. She could make peace with what he'd done, after all if the airbags really didn't have an army, then it was the smart thing to do… Ambush was the smart move… She would have done it. Would she? No matter how much she tried to convince herself of that something in the back of her mind whispered.

_Weak… Dishonorable… Cowardly…_

Everybody knew the airbenders died out because they would not yield to the Fire Lord. They died for their stubbornness and the world was better for it, that was the story. But another thing _everybody knew_ was how Fire Lord Azulon died of natural causes and although she didn't exactly know what killed him, she knew it was not natural.

All of this was proving too much for Azula to handle and when in the middle of a firebending lesson her father yelled out: "Where is your head, Azula?!" She told him everything.

And after getting everything off her chest, she didn't even get a straight answer from him.

"Every Fire Lord does what is best for his people. I do, my father did and his father before him."

A few days later, inevitably, Zyra Omori made her way through the halls of the palace. Azula cut off her way to the throne room. She was panting, but luckily, she made it from her combat training on the other side of the palace in time.

"Princess." The woman bowed. Azula found it incredibly wrong, which was odd since she usually loved people bowing to her.

"You need to listen to me… If you don't want to get punished, you have to apologize to-"

"Azula, I know what-"

"No! We're not in school now, we're in the palace. You're going to listen to me… I told him about what you said in class."

"I know." The woman still had that easy smile while she tried to walk past Azula.

"Then why are you not terrified?" Azula grabbed hold of the teacher's hand, like that could keep her from leaving. "Your family name means nothing to him. He can do with you as he likes."

After hearing that Miss Omori crouched down next to her and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry, Princess. I can handle myself."

"I'm not worried," Azula rejected disgustedly. "I'm the one that turned you in."

"I'm not scared."

"You should be. My father is the most powerful man in the world," Azula announced and the woman actually shrugged. "Maybe I'll tell him about the detention."

"I had a valid reason every time." Miss Omori stood up and continued walking towards the throne room while Azula followed, silently grumbling to herself.

"I wouldn't want to be you right now," the Princess said before the giant door opened before them.

_But if I were you, I would play it smart from now on._

**oooooooooo**

Azula was used to the sight of the Fire Lord, sitting on his throne, his face covered in shadows, but she couldn't imagine how it looked to someone new. Her teacher wasn't a commoner, but being at the mercy of the Fire Lord couldn't have been pleasant.

The announcer spoke their names. Her father had the wall of fire, separating the throne from the rest of the room, burning quite high today, no doubt to seem more threatening. Azula hoped that meant he'd chosen intimidation over punishment, while she followed Zyra to the flames. To her credit, the woman's step never once faltered.

Once they were right in front of the Fire Lord, they both bowed deeply. Azula told herself she came to be able to interject if the woman told any untruths, but she knew that was not it, entirely. She also doubted her father would do anything really bad to Miss Omori while Azula watched.

The wall of fire disappeared, and the Fire Lord stood up slowly, gracefully. Azula was still on her knees, awaiting his word to raise, but the teacher straightened of her own accord.

"And who died and made you Fire Lord?" she asked, smiling, and Azula's stomach sank, fearing she was about to witness her first murder. But to her surprise, when her eyes darted to her father, she saw a smile forming on his face. And she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him smile like that at anyone but her.

"Zyra, it's been far too long… But a nice surprise seeing you here."

"It's hardly a surprise, your guards came to my house."

"I meant, I was surprised to learn of your return to the capital and the subsequent hiding."

"Hiding?" The woman chuckled. "I walked the streets every day, Fire Lord."

"Well, you look well. The capital agrees with you."

"And absolute power agrees with you…"

Azula stood up, since she realized no one was paying attention to her, then stared blankly at her teacher.

"Matches your eyes." Miss Omori added.

The Princess shifted her gaze briefly to her father, who was somehow still smiling, and then back to her teacher.

"I think Azula is more than a little confused," the woman said.

"I understand she thought she'd gotten you in some kind of trouble."

Azula hated this. This felt like an _adult_ thing, and if it was, she was completely out of the loop. And she hated very few things more than that. What was happening?

"I did break the law," Miss Omori said, and her father actually laughed slightly, waving her words off. "I repeated to those kids exactly what you told me about the Air Genocide when we were their age."

"It's no problem. I was going to tell Azula soon. In a year, perhaps."

Azula still took turns staring at each of them. Her confusion must have been painfully obvious since they finally turned their attention to her.

"You see, Azula, Zyra and I are very old friends," her father explained. It wasn't enough.

"I told you I went to the Boys' Academy. I met then-Prince Ozai during my first week." The woman smiled before delivering the last part. "And I beat his face into the dirt."

"You and I remember that fight very differently," Ozai said.

"I trust it's hard to remember, after having your head struck so many times."

The Fire Lord laughed at that.

"So you've been friends since then?" Azula asked.

"Essentially," Miss Omori answered. "I moved at one point. Your father got married."

"Azula, you can leave now. Zyra and I would like to have some time to catch up," the Fire Lord addressed his daughter.

"But father, the matter of the information she shared…"

"Is closed. Go, child." Ozai waved her off.

As Azula was heading towards the door, she saw her father gesture for the announcer to leave as well. If there was no one at the door that meant she could hide behind the curtains again and listen in. That was exactly what they deserved after excluding her like that.

Slowly, the door closed and, thinking Azula was out of the room, her father stepped forward, trying to kiss Miss Omori. Azula held in a gasp. She'd never even seen the man kiss her mother, this was… Unexpected.

Miss Omori put a hand on his chest to hold him back.

"You're married," she said.

"Not anymore, I'm not."

"So it's true? Farm Girl's dead then?"

Azula's eyes went wide. That had to be referring to her mother. Yet she also didn't know the answer to that particular question.

"She might as well be…" her father said. "You have to know, there was never anything more than procreation between us. I ridded myself of her, first chance I got."

"I have to ask. The Fire Lord, how did he…?"

"Killed. Not directly by my hand, but I killed him, Zyra. Finally."

Azula was prepared to hear a lot of different responses from her teacher, but not the one that actually came.

"Good." There was a coldness to the woman's voice, that Azula didn't recognize. And it was scarier than her father's loudest yelling.

"He'd just ordered me to kill my son."

"He always was a monster." Miss Omori drew a bit closer to him then stopped herself. "I cannot even imagine what that feels like. I don't know Zuko, but I did come to know Azula and she's… Wonderful."

"I'm glad we agree on that."

"Yes, she's so smart, so focused. I mean, she does have some entitlement issues, maybe she could work on controlling herself better… What?" She stopped when she saw him smirking.

"I remember knowing another girl with similar problems…" He got her to smile too. "I even remember her blowing up our chemistry lab when we were fourteen."

"Well, I don't know what-"

"I believe our teacher told you he didn't think a woman could keep up with his lesson plan."

"No, he told me the most complicated chemicals a woman should be handling are those in perfumes."

"So you do remember…"

"Of course, I remember. I spent a month distilling chemicals from perfumes to use them in my explosive."

"I didn't mean it as an insult. I have a special fondness for my daughter, and I think that is, in part, because she reminds me so much of you that I could pretend…" He made a pause. "Pretend she was yours and mine, not mine and that woman's. Like she was supposed to be."

"Ozai…" She shook her head and took a step away. "You have to know, I didn't come here for this."

"Of course… You came for work. You're a teacher now, somehow."

"It's a long story, but-"

"One I'd like to hear."

"It's a good fit for me."

"And according to what I hear from Azula, you're doing an exquisite job at the Girls' Academy."

"I'm doing what I can… With the scarce resources. It's better than when we were kids, but it's still behind what the boys have."

"You're forgetting I'm Fire Lord now. I could transfer both you and Azula there." He paused. "But seeing your expression, I presume that you have a personal interest in the Girls' school, so I'll just give you enough money to get what you need to work. Simply tell me how much and I'll write it down right now. I'll even make you headmistress to manage it all."

"That's generous, my Lord, but I don't want to be anything more than a teacher right now. The girls need me."

"As you wish, _my Lady._" He headed past her and towards the door. "If you'll follow me, we'll get you all the books and rulers you could ever want."

**oooooooooo**

Zyra sat on the floor mixing paints for another painting session with Azula. She couldn't seem to get the brown right and the girl was bound to notice and make her do it again. Her mind wasn't really in it today, however, since it was too busy thinking about Ozai.

No, not Fire Lord Ozai. She wasn't sure how she felt about him yet.

Prince Ozai. The young boy who used to pull her hair and firebend at her when she'd outperform him with the wrong assumption that she'd let his title protect him from her retaliation. Prince Ozai. The sarcastic teenager with an irresistible smirk who loved putting his hand around her to let everyone know she chose him.

"You're not done with the paints yet?" Azula asked from the door.

Zyra hadn't even noticed she'd stopped mixing the brown paint.

"Almost. Mind helping?" She couldn't stop herself from smiling when the girl sat down on the floor and started helping without a word. Only a week ago, she would have at least protested a little. At least said they'd split the job and that Zyra should do her part.

But now Azula just sat there, silently mixing paints.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Whatever you want."

"Are you my mother?"

Zyra jerked to look at the princess. Where had she gotten that?

"How? How would that work?"

"I don't know…" the girl looked back into the paints.

"I'm not. I'm not anybody's mother." It was true, yet Zyra hated saying it. She'd always thought she'd be someone's mother by this point in her life. "Did you listen in on your father and I yesterday?"

"I might have…"

"Well, you shouldn't do that, young lady. You-"

"I saw you kiss my dad." Azula blurted out.

"You didn't."

"How do you know?"

"I know, because I didn't kiss him yesterday."

"But you did kiss him some other day?"

Zyra sighed.

"Come on, I'm young, I'm not stupid!" Azula continued. "There's obviously more to the story and my dad won't tell me anything… He just says you were his best friend, but I know that's a lie. Ty Lee's my best friend and I don't kiss her."

_Well, we weren't yet kissing at nine either… Things change._

"If I tell you-"

"Yes, yes, alright!"

"Let me finish… If I tell you what happened, will you drop this?"

"If you tell me the truth." The girl looked honest enough.

"Alright." Zyra took a deep breath. "You already know we met when I transferred to the boys' school. I was about your age then. The boys loved teasing me during my first few days and I mostly ignored them, until this little…punk, tried to set my hair on fire with his bending during recess, then laughed with his idiot friends. Knowing he was the better bender, I charged him head on, and tackled him into the pond before he knew what was happening. In the water he lost the advantage, so I could punch him and shake him and shove his head into the pond mud. I almost drowned him not knowing he was the prince."

"Woah." Azula turned to the woman completely, as they both abandoned the paint cans.

"Yes, that is the downside of not thinking things through. In any other group of kids, I would've been the one whose parents-"

"No, no… I mean, you were fun. And intense."

"I wouldn't call almost accidentally assassinating a prince fun."

"I would… You were challenged, you made him regret it. I presume he stopped teasing you after that?"

"We went through a competitive phase, but soon realized we were too similar not to be best friends. Then we bullied other people. Together."

"And…?" Azula asked.

"No _and_… It's not a part of my life that I'm proud of."

"What happened in between then and now? It's been decades…"

"Well, when you get to a certain age, Azula, you start looking at people differently. Ozai and I started liking each other so much we asked our families to be engaged. And they eventually said yes."

Zyra decided to exclude the part where they had a secret relationship that lasted years, together with the all the making out in hallways, running away from personal guards and sneaking into each other's rooms. It did not set a good example for the child.

_It was fun, though…_

"Later he went to serve in the army, and I followed him," she continued. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me there, so I enrolled in the university closest to his camp so we could still be close and-"

"Then why didn't you marry him?"

"Your mother," Zyra said before thinking.

"But he didn't love her, he said so yesterday." The princess didn't appear to have any problem accepting that fact.

_Ozai must not have been good at pretending…_

Now, why did knowing that make Zyra feel good?

"It didn't really matter. He didn't have a choice."

"How? He was a prince. He-"

"Had to obey the Fire Lord's orders. Ozai and I were engaged for years and Azulon would still not let us get married. Now I know it was because he was searching for your mother."

"But why? I don't understand. Your family is as rich as they get, why would he choose some commoner for his son instead?"

"Azula, about what I said last night about your mother… I'm-"

"I don't care about that."

Zyra wanted to apologize, but she realized it was more for her conscience than for Azula.

"Azulon chose your mother for her genes. Avatar Roku was her grandfather and he thought that meant-" Zyra stopped, realizing this was brand new information to Azula.

"I'm related to the Avatar?" She looked around. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew. The Fire Lord searched for Roku's descendants for years… Iroh was already married when he found your mother so that left only Ozai."

"He broke your engagement? Can you even do that?"

"If you're Fire Lord, you can do whatever you want… He didn't even ask, he just said what was going to happen next." Zyra took in a deep breath. "I heard from my parents. They told me I had to marry someone else quickly, or I'd bring shame to the family. I was old for bride standards already, so the only offer I got was from an old man who lost two wives already."

Of course, Zyra couldn't tell the girl the reason she hadn't gotten any other offers then was the fact that she wasn't a virgin anymore. That was unacceptable in a young noble woman, money didn't make a difference.

She also couldn't tell the girl how Fire Lord Azulon offered to marry her instead of Ozai since his wife was gone. Even Ozai didn't know that.

_He would have killed him sooner if he'd known…_

"So what did you do?"

"I said no." Zyra almost cringed remembering how young and naive she'd been then. "I pledged my love for Ozai and refused to marry anyone but him. Ever. I said I didn't care what they did to me, that love was more important. See, that was the deal the two of us made the night before. That we wouldn't let them force us into anything. That we'd stay united."

"And then…?" Azula asked once she realized Zyra didn't want to finish her story.

"Then your father agreed to marry your mother." Zyra stood up, picking up the brush and continued working on the little part of the wall that Azula allowed her to touch.

"He caved? He betrayed you…" She could hear Azula asking from behind.

She'd allowed her thoughts to go down that road too many times in earlier years, she couldn't go there again. It hurt too much.

"No…" She shook her head. "He obeyed direct orders from the Fire Lord."

"And you married the other guy?"

"No." Zyra looked at the little princess. "I refused so I was stripped of my family name, of all my titles and banished to the colonies. I-"

She had to stop herself from saying how, at first, she expected Ozai to change his mind and come rescue her. How she was homeless and almost starved at one point.

"It wasn't as bad as I make it sound." She stroked the girl's cheek to reassure her. "I found a family willing to employ me to tutor their daughter. Then I got more teaching offers, and… Well, I wouldn't have thought it for me if not for the circumstances."

"Are you going to marry my father now?" Azula asked carefully. Zyra was expecting it, but it still caught her unprepared somehow. Why did she find it easier to reject Ozai to his face, than like this?

"That's not why I came back, Azula. Now, with my parents and the Fire Lord dead, my brother was able to give me my family name back. That's it… I didn't come to steal your father or-"

"I didn't mean it like that…" Azula picked up a brush too and started working not that far from the teacher despite that part being pronounced finished already. "I just thought… You'd both want to. That you'd be happy."

And that was when Zyra realized Azula wasn't jealous, or afraid of losing her father's attention. She wanted this. She was missing a mother and well… Zyra was the next best thing.

"I'm afraid this situation might be too complicated for you to understand, Princess. You will someday, when you're older, I promise. But for now, all you need to know is that I will not be marrying your father." Zyra truly hoped that would be it for today, concerning that topic.

"You're right, I don't understand… If you were honest with me, then this is what you've always wanted." Azula paused in thought for a moment. "Is it my brother and me? Is it because of us?"

"No, no… You see, I did love your father once, Azula, but that changed. If enough time passes, you become a different person, and the person you loved changes as well, so your feelings can too. You can stop loving someone without anything, or anyone being to blame."

"I understand that." Azula turned back towards the wall and changed the color she was using.

"You do?"

"Sure. It's like what happened with my mother. She used to love Zuko and me, but then she stopped. So she left."

"No!" Zyra dropped her brush to the floor and pulled Azula so she could look at her. "Listen to me, Azula. It's nothing like that for parents. They have no choice but to love their children."

"That's not true." Azula chuckled.

"Yes, it is."

"So your mother, the one who banished you and left you all alone, she loved you?"

"She thought she was teaching me a lesson, I'm sure she told herself it was for my own good. She was wrong, and she was cruel, but I'm sure she loved me in her own way. They all do."

"Then why did mine-" Azula stopped herself since the words came out desperate and needy.

"I don't know, dear. I never met her. But I _know_ she loved you." Zyra had never hated Ursa. Not even when the girl was marrying _her_ fiancé. Much like Zyra, the girl was a victim, never given any choice in how her life was going to go. She'd felt sorry for her, but she'd never been able to bring herself to actually hate Ursa. Not until now. She hated what the woman's absence did to Azula and she hated that despite having nine years with her daughter, the little girl didn't seem to believe her mother loved her.

Zyra knelt down and embraced the Princess who didn't even try to fight it.

"I'm fine." The girl's voice was almost back to normal. No child should have gotten that good at hiding her emotions yet.

"Of course, you are."

**oooooooooo**

_**Okay, so I know I made some creative decisions in this chapter than not everyone will like, but if I'd just left everything as it is, Zyra would have gone to see Ozai and just DIED, which I'm not ready for.**_

_**I think this will kind of freshen up the story a bit, and I did hint at Zyra having like something happen to her in the past, so I'm not a terrible author… And I hoped it would make her into more of a person on her own, than just a person to tell Azula smart stuff…**_

_**About her hate for Azulon, it's understandable with the situation, I think. Like Azulon is to her like the incarnation of everything wrong and evil in the world. He basically ruined her life…**_

_**And I am kind of personally open to the possibility that Ozai wasn't always pure evil like he was at the time of the show. I want to believe it's not too late for show Azula so, I kind of have to believe people aren't born evil then…**_

_**If your read the Search comic, there's a flashback scene where Ursa tells Ozai that she sometimes pretends that Zuko is the son of her ex-boyfriend, and true love she was with before him, so that kind of inspired me to think: Maybe Ozai had a life before Azulon decided to choose him a wife.**_

_**Anyway, if you have time for a comment it will be much appreciated :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**To a chill P.E. teacher who pretended not to see when I couldn't do something...**_

**oooooooooo**

_**So this chapter is really two chapters wearing a trenchcoat, or in other words, I refused to cut anything out of fear of things happening too fast, so here you go…**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 5**

"Azula, it's an emergency!" Mouse yelled as soon as the bell marked the end of Math class.

Azula stood up and whirled, searching for the girl. She didn't really want to think about how she ended up as the girl's protector, but that was essentially what it came down to. It was like Miss Omori said, it was cowardly to prey on the weak. It would have been no problem for Azula to intimidate Mouse, the girl was harmless, but to intimidate the older girls who picked on her, well, that was fun. And actually, a challenge.

"What is it, Amaya?" Azula turned again and found Mouse standing in front of her desk with her sleeve drawn up, revealing the drawing of a dragon she dubbed _Sparky_ yesterday when Azula drew it.

"I was careful, but it got smudged anyway… I smudged away his eyes. Can you fix it?"

"I wouldn't exactly call that an emergency."

"Azula, he can't see like this!" Mouse looked genuinely distraught. It was just a few weeks ago when this girl wouldn't even look at Azula and now she felt comfortable to yell. Nothing like a mouse anymore… _Amaya_, then.

"You are aware he isn't real, right?"

"He can still hear you!" Amaya covered the drawing's head.

"Let me see what I can do…" It was nothing really. Just a dot and two lines of her writing brush. It wasn't a lot of trouble. It just took a few seconds.

Yet, when she was done Amaya looked at her like she'd changed the world.

"Oh, thank you, Azula! I'll be so much more careful this time," the girl said, then turned around and walked back to her seat talking quietly to her drawing the entire way.

_That girl really was strange_…

Azula smiled slightly, watching her go.

"You like that she's your friend now," Ty Lee blurted out.

"No." Azula made the smile disappear. "I just do it to see her talk to that thing. It's funny."

"No… I think you like making her happy."

"That's ridiculous."

"Hey, Princess…" They were interrupted by Crooked walking by with a book. "I have a question."

"Is it an _emergency_?"

"No, but I promise, it has nothing to do with personified dragon drawings…" She got a nod from Azula. "Any idea what a _schism_ is?"

"It is a division of a group into opposing factions."

Crooked nodded and quickly jotted that down into the book. "Thanks."

"You're on chapter five then, I presume?" Azula asked, noticing the book was the one Miss Omori had given to the both of them.

"Yeah… But you're probably already finished with it." Crooked looked down. _Sora_. Sora looked down.

"Sora." Azula made her look up. "I did, but five's a good one. And if you want to ask anything else, I'll probably know."

Sora nodded and walked off, but not before giving an awkward smile. No one besides Amaya was really used to the _new_ Azula yet.

"Oh, I knew it!" Ty Lee threw her arms around the Princess and squeezed. "You do like them…"

Azula moved her gaze over to Mai.

"Don't look at me, this is what you get when you're nice to people."

Ty Lee pulled her into the hug as well. That's when Miss Omori burst into the room and closed the door after her. Everyone looked to her, including the Math teacher who was still there, gathering his books and supplies.

"Mr. Shig, we have a sort of an emergency on our hands," she said.

"What kind of-"

"Code _Yellow Phenix_."

"What's going on, Miss Omori?" Sora walked up to the teacher, but all the girls waited for the answer.

The only exception was Azula who stared at Mr. Shig as he tried to remember what the code meant. Then suddenly, his eyes went wide and he gasped involuntarily.

"No, no, no… Not like this!" He grabbed his hair.

"What's wrong?" Amaya asked.

"I need you to stay calm, girls. There is an armed intruder in the building. He was spotted minutes ago, but we have protocols for this and if we all follow them everyone should be fine."

The girls took it better than the teacher did.

"What do the protocols say?" Sora asked. As a firebender, it made sense she'd be calmer than the rest. She could defend herself if it came to it.

"It's simple." Miss Omori put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You'll follow your teacher to the lunchroom and out of the building."

"And where will you go?"

"I'll be escorting the Princess out of the building by another route."

"Why?" Azula walked forward, past Mr. Shig who was having some kind of a nervous breakdown.

"Because we don't know what the man's aim here is, but we do know the Fire Lord's daughter is a likely target."

"Zyra, don't you think…" Mr. Shig finally managed to get a few words in. "Don't you think we shouldn't separate?"

"I think everyone would be safer if we removed the most logical target from the rest of the population."

Miss Omori took Azula's hand and started leading her towards the door. In any normal situation, she would have found the gesture patronizing, but weirdly, she found it comforting. If she was going to be with anyone during this, it was best to be near the grown-up firebending master with a military background.

"Wait, I just thought-"

"There is no waiting, Shig… Can you get those kids out through the lunchroom, or must I do everything around here?!"

He nodded, and Miss Omori pulled Azula through the door. The last thing she saw were the scared faces of her friends as she was taken away.

They'd be fine.

Of course…

She was the only reason they were in danger in the first place. Remove her and they'd be fine.

"Are you doing alright, Princess?" Miss Omori asked when they were a few steps into the hallway.

"You might not want to call me that now."

They were alone in the hall, but Azula couldn't help but think there was someone behind every door, just waiting to jump her. Now that she thought about it, there could be more than one attacker. Yes, it made sense that the first one would just be a distraction to draw her out and then…

She hoped Miss Omori couldn't see the panic starting to overcome her.

"You do know this isn't about you personally? As the princess people will always-"

"And we're absolutely sure he's here for me?"

"Well, to be honest, not _absolutely_. People sometimes… They sometimes don't really care _who_ the people they hurt are, they just want to prove they can-"

"I know what terrorism is."

"Of course, you do." The woman squeezed her hand a bit tighter. "I remember Ozai going through this a few times. The people are mostly just here to threaten, they're not really dangerous. But we have to treat them like they are every time."

"And my dad was fine?"

"Every time. It was scary at first, but you get used to it as the Fire Lord's son."

"Zuko!" Azula remembered suddenly.

"Please, stay quiet."

"No. What about Zuko?" Azula pulled her hand from her teacher. "What if it's a coordinated attack? What if they're going after him too? We have to send someone, he's totally useless, he can't protect himself! And he doesn't have you, all his teachers are idiots like Mr. Shig."

"Shh, I promise you he's fine. We have to worry about you right now." Miss Omori stopped when the Princess did, but looked desperate to keep moving.

"Think. Why would they go after me and not go after the Crown Prince?"

"Because… They have five times the guards at the Boys' Academy and actual security protocols. We don't because all the targets here are-"

"Girls."

"I'm sorry, I know it's unfair that you're in danger right now, but I swear, both you and your brother will be fine. Now, let me get you out of here, Azula."

"Hey, you there!" A voice came from behind them. They both whirled and spotted an angry looking man, holding out his hand and clutching something in his palm. Azula soon realized it must be an explosive he could trigger with just a bit of firebending from his hand. That must have been why he hadn't been overpowered yet.

Of course, Miss Omori realized this sooner, and swiftly placed herself between Azula and the strange man.

"Who's this?" He gestured to Azula.

"My niece. I wanted to get her out as soon as possible." Miss Omori made her voice sound weak. Azula could hear it was fake, but the way the woman clutched at Azula's uniform, firmly keeping her behind herself, seemed real.

"I heard you call her Azula."

Miss Omori didn't even flinch. Azula hated herself for it, but she did. She squeezed her teacher's hand on her uniform. If this man set the bomb off, what would her father do during their tutor time on Saturday mornings? Who would finish the painting on the wall? Who would push Zuko into the pond with Mai and Ty Lee? Who would fix Amaya's dragon when it got smudged again? Who'd help Sora if she didn't understand something in the book?

"This is the Princess, isn't it?" The man took a step forward.

"Please." Miss Omori was looking straight at him. "You don't want to do this. If you leave now, it's like it never happened."

"Step aside."

Azula flinched again at the thought of Miss Omori leaving her.

"No."

"Step aside! I don't want to hurt _you_."

"But you would hurt a child?" Miss Omori relaxed her grip on Azula, as she relaxed her expression. "That's what she is, you know? Just a nine-year-old who did nothing to deserve this."

"No! She's not just a child! She's _his_ child! The child of the monster who killed my son!"

Azula didn't even doubt for one second her father was really responsible for the death. Chances are it was true. She couldn't believe this was how she died…

"Killed how?" Miss Omori asked.

"_He_ sent my son's whole division into their death for a little battlefield advantage," the man explained.

"_A little battlefield advantage_ can sometimes save millions of lives. What happened to your-"

"Sometimes, yes! But not here, _he_ _and his_ can keep dragging out this war, because they send us to die in it! We don't want it no more!"

"A Royal Prince recently lost his life in-"

"That's one!" He waved the hand that held the device. "One of theirs for how many of ours?! I gave three of my sons to Azulon, the last one to Ozai, I have none _left_!" He screamed the last word as loud as he could.

"And I suppose that is this little girl's fault, is it?!" She paused a bit to think, since he was listening to her finally. "Just as your sons could not be faulted for what you're doing here, she should not be accountable for her father's actions."

"I have to show him! I have to show him what he's doing to all of us! Now get out of the way!"

Once the man started screaming again, Azula couldn't take it anymore. She yanked herself free of her teacher's grip and stepped forward, towards the man.

It was time for it to end.

"If you want me, then at least fight me! I'm a princess and am therefore not scared of some-" It was all Azula managed to get out before Miss Omori grabbed hold of her again and pushed her behind herself. Azula was a bit relieved, since the bomb looked quite a bit scarier once she had a clear view of it, even though it the case of an explosion it would make almost no difference.

"You protect her now," the man started. "Yet she will be just as much of a monster as _he_ is, in a few years."

"She will, if you already decide she's guilty before she even has a chance," Miss Omori squeezed her hold on Azula slightly. "That's why you'll just have to kill me if you want to hurt her."

The man stepped forward again, looking like he'd made a decision, but then faltered again.

"You know what I think?" Miss Omori spoke again. "I think you don't want to do this because you know it won't stop the war. It will make _him_ hurt for a while, but he'd only treat us worse after. In truth, you'd only be saving one person from a death in the war, a little girl who wouldn't even get a chance to grow as big as your boys were."

The man was weeping by the time she was done, Azula couldn't believe it. He was lowering his hand.

"Then how do I stop it?" he managed, quietly.

"I don't know... But you could start by giving me the bomb and walking out of here." Miss Omori stepped forward without Azula and put out her hand slowly. She remained almost completely still as the man reached the bomb out to her. The moment it was in the woman's hands completely, Azula felt like she could finally breathe again.

To her surprise, the man looked relieved too. He looked to Azula with something other than hate, for the first time. Guilt, maybe? He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get out even one word before an arrow went into his eye and straight through his skull.

Azula turned and saw Mr. Akagi at the end of the hallway with a bow. Soon a few of the other teachers peeked into the hallway and gave approving nods to the man. That's when Miss Omori marched past Azula and straight for the man who fired the arrow.

"I guess you're lucky I was-" The woman shut him up with a fire fist to his bow, which went flying out of his hands and continued burning on the floor. "What-"

In less than a second Miss Omori had him pinned to the wall, holding a fire dagger at his neck.

"He gave over his weapon! Did you see that?" she asked, and the man nodded as hard as the dagger would allow him. "Of course, you did… And where were you while he was armed? Hiding? You like it when one person is helpless, don't you?! This is how that feels like!"

Azula didn't see anything change, but Mr. Akagi screamed so that meant Miss Omori pressed the dagger forward. The woman dropped him quickly, and the man was obviously more scared than hurt, since Azula could only make out the tiniest burn on his neck.

"And you can all stop gossiping, I did go to see the Fire Lord!" Miss Omori turned around looking at each of the confused and terrified teachers. "And there are going to be some changes around here, since he decided he's giving me this school."

After saying that, the woman paced out of the hallway and out the building.

**oooooooooo**

It was horrible, really…

Only days after seeing Ozai again and Zyra was already back to this.

She sat on a bench outside the school, watching as the soldiers searched the building and garden for more explosives. It had to be admitted, they came quickly. Quickly after the danger was gone. She was sure they would be happy there's a corpse to blame. Easier than a breathing, talking man who could be yelling all kinds of things about the Fire Lord. Now, they could say he attacked because he was mentally ill, or because he was sent by the Nation's enemies. They could pretty much say whatever they wanted.

But that wasn't the worst thing... She lost control. She attacked a colleague for killing a man who walked a bomb into a school. Zyra truly thought she'd buried that side of herself, but it turned out you never really got over who you used to be.

"Miss Omori?" Azula stood not that far from her now, a worried look on her young face.

_Why?_

That's when Zyra realized she'd allowed a few tears to escape. Perfect…

"I'm fine. How are you, dear?" She wiped her runaway tears in one quick motion and gestured for Azula to come closer. She took the girl by the shoulders and looked her up and down.

"I'm alright." Azula opened her mouth to say more. Then closed it. Then opened it again. "Are you crying?"

"I guess, I am."

"Why? We won."

It was moments like that when Zyra felt like she'd gotten nowhere with the girl. No matter what she taught her, the princess couldn't seem to come to empathy naturally.

"A man died today, Azula. I can't be happy about that."

"But he wanted to kill me. Did you want him to succeed?"

"Of course, not." Zyra shook her head. "But I prefer to solve my problems with words, not cowardly shots behind someone's back."

_Easy…_

"_Sometimes death is a mercy_," Azula said meaningfully. "My father says that."

"If the man had stayed alive, he had to go to prison, definitely, but he could've told his story. Sad thing is, just because someone's methods are despicable, doesn't mean their point is wrong. He unfortunately ruined his message by endangering all you girls."

"So his kids died in battle…" The girl shrugged. "Lu Ten did, too. It happens in war. That's what it's for."

"You know how you miss your mother?"

"I don't-" Azula stopped when she got a look from Zyra. "Yeah."

"Well, losing a child is like that, just a lot worse, since it's not really supposed to happen. You're supposed to die before your children, it's natural, but the other way around is just wrong." Zyra took one of the girl's hands to get as much of her attention as possible. "That's why you can't do what you did today ever again."

The girl looked like she got what that was referring to.

"But I-"

"None of that… Your father would've been crushed if he'd lost you. Your friends too. You have a precious, young life, please, promise me you won't throw it away for family honor or some other imaginary thing like that. I once chose my life over their honor and I would never trade back. Promise?"

"I promise…" She took in a big breath. "To think about it…?"

"Azula."

"I don't want to lie."

"That's alright, then. Please, think about it. Was there something you wanted to ask?"

"Just… I wanted to thank you for… You know. For stopping me when I gave myself up. And standing between me and the bomb." The girl sounded like she didn't really like the words that were coming out of her mouth. Gratitude did feel unnatural coming from her, and it must have felt unnatural to talk about, but Azula was still doing it. Zyra felt meaning again, realizing the girl would have not done that a month ago.

"Of course… If it happened a hundred times more, to any of you girls, I'd do it again."

"Let's hope it doesn't." Azula smiled.

"Yes." Zyra smiled back, then realized she couldn't not tell her after the girl was so honest. "And Azula, about my behavior after the man went down… It was wrong what I did. I was a-"

"Bully?"

"I'll go and apologize to the teachers later, but I wanted to apologize to you too, for having to see it."

"I was surprised by it. I think…" Azula sighed deeply. "You earned yourself a week of detention."

"I deserve that." Zyra chuckled. "But listen, it's like I told you. You make a mistake, you have to own up to it. You did with yours, and I'll do it with mine. It's a bit different when you're an adult, though… Adults don't get forgiven so easily. Sometimes you make just one mistake and you're this _bad_ _person_ to everyone forever…"

Zyra looked down, wondering if she managed to get her message across or if she has to add anything, but then she felt the little girl hug her and she immediately knew her answer.

How could she ever have doubted she was making progress with Azula? The princess was clearly trying to comfort her, since that was what Zyra did to her when she was crying. She was learning and growing and becoming a better person, and that made Zyra want to start crying all over again.

**oooooooooo**

Azula woke up just before noon.

It was her birthday, and it was already turning out better than her last one for a variety of reasons. Firstly, today she turned ten, which was more than nine, which immediately made it better. Secondly, she got to sleep in this morning since her father told the servants to forget her wake up call. That kind of thing was impossible during her previous birthdays, seeing how her mother made sure to wake her at six in the morning every year. It was this sappy tradition she had, since she gave birth to Azula at six, she wanted to congratulate her daughter at six every time. Azula despised it for years, especially since Zuko's birth hour was four in the afternoon so it never interfered with his sleeping.

However, waking up so late, she couldn't help but feel a bit wrong. It didn't really feel like her birthday if it didn't start with her yelling at her mother and squirming out of her hug. Azula, of course, knew her mother wouldn't come to wake her. If the woman did ever return, she definitely wouldn't return for Azula. Yet she couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of disappointment as she got out of her bed and got to dressing. There was another better thing… For the first time, she got to wear whatever she wanted to her birthday celebration. In previous years, her mother prepared some kind of silk dress for her to struggle in for the entire day, but not this time. Her father had been clear with the servants, Azula was to wear what she wanted.

She stood in front of the mirror and regarded her outfit. She looked like it was any other day in her shirt and trousers… Maybe it wasn't too late for a dress?

"Daughter," she heard from the door.

"Daddy!" She turned and ran to the Fire Lord, who lifted her up as she put her arms around his neck.

"At ten, I think you might be getting a little old for this," he said as he was putting her down. "Happy birthday, Azula."

_Too old for what? Getting picked up, or for the hug, or calling him _Daddy _maybe?_

Azula didn't think about it since she didn't feel ready to give up any of the three yet.

_Maybe he meant too old for a birthday celebration?_

"Now, this is nice." He tugged slightly at the shirt over her shoulder, sliding it into place. "Not the blasted dresses she had you parading around until this year. Don't you think?"

He turned her towards the big mirror again. She nodded without even looking up at herself first.

"Of course." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "This is what you're for…"

He was right. Of course, he was. She was training to be the best firebender in the world, dresses weren't for her.

"I must leave you now, since I'm having a political gathering tonight, but I'll see you before bed."

"You won't be at my celebration, Father?" She didn't like how the word tasted in her mouth.

"I have some matters to attend to with the parents while you children play, but we'll see each other afterwards. I'll… I guess, I can spare an hour to train with you. I'll find you tonight."

"Alright." She looked down.

"And to make up for it, I'll forbid Zuko from going down to your celebration. I'll ground him to his room. How would you like that, Princess?"

"No, I want him there. I…"

She didn't really have an explanation. Not a rational one, anyway. She thought about Zuko staying inside another day, crying about Mom, and she just didn't want it. The woman didn't deserve his misery. But her father wouldn't take that as a reason.

"Why?"

"The girls and I need someone to tease." She forced a little smirk. He chuckled.

"Far be it from me to ruin your fun, then." He squeezed her shoulder slightly and walked away.

The celebration. That was the fourth reason this birthday was going to be so much better than the last one. She always invited all her classmates, as was expected, since it gave their parents a chance to fraternize with her father, but this time, those girls actually liked her. Or at least, tolerated her.

She was actually excited for a day filled with running around in the sun and playing games, without worrying about keeping up her appearance as the powerful and scary princess. That was probably the reason she wanted Zuko there. She wanted him to see her new and improved way of getting people to like her. The one that actually worked.

Azula hadn't really spoken to him a lot since she met Miss Omori because he didn't come out of his room much since their mother left. And even worse, when he did, he didn't look up unless he had to. The one interaction they had about it consisted of her teasing and him screaming at her that she was the reason Mom left.

_Was she?_

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in." Azula turned from the mirror to see Miss Omori. The woman got to her knees and spread her arms just in time for Azula to run into them for a hug.

"Hey, Birthday Girl!"

Azula didn't know why, but she had a hard time letting go of Miss Omori. She knew that the woman would kneel there and hug her for as long as she needed, but she made herself let go anyway, way before she was ready.

"How are you here?" she asked.

"Your father invited me to a boring adult thing, but since I was already at the palace, I thought I'd come and congratulate you in person. So are you excited for the party? You feeling older and wiser?"

"A bit excited. And I think I'm already plenty wise."

Miss Omori chuckled.

"You know, I was secretly hoping to catch you in some kind of traditional dress or something out of the ordinary like that…" The woman smirked. "Guess, I'm out of luck today."

"It's my birthday, I can wear whatever I want…"

"I know, and you should… I just loved dressing up formally when I was your age. But I also liked wrecking the dresses by playing in the garden."

"I would wear a dress, but… It's not what I'm for. I'm a fighter."

"Don't say that." Miss Omori frowned instantly. "You're a person Azula, you're not _for_ anything."

"I know that…" Her father obviously didn't.

Miss Omori took a step back to draw attention to the long red dress she was wearing.

"I'm wearing one and I swear none of my firebending knowledge is compromised."

"But I don't have to?"

"Absolutely not. Now I need to get going, or I'll be terribly late and not just fashionably late." The woman cracked the door open. "But before I leave, I have something for you."

She whistled and three men came running, each carrying a box.

"How did you get this into the palace? You have to leave all gifts with my father first…"

"My last name's _Omori_ and money talks." The woman threw a bag of what appeared to be coins to the last man as he was closing the door on his way out.

"What is it?"

"Why don't you go and check?" Miss Omori gestured to the closest box and Azula carefully took off the lid. There were fresh paints in there.

"I can't have that here!" It escaped before Azula could think. "Thank you, but I can't-"

"I had them put in boxes used for candles, I paid the men to be quiet, and your maid to ignore them. I also gave your father an official gift for you. Several old paintings you can hang in your room and use the back side of their canvas for your own paintings."

"That's…" Azula wanted to end the sentence with _insane_, but it really wasn't. It was actually surprisingly thought-out.

"Enjoy your gift, Azula. And your birthday. I really need to go."

**oooooooooo**

Zyra was relieved none of the guards on her way asked her where her husband was and if she was lost, because she was really not in the mood. Someone would end up getting a fire fist to the face, and it wouldn't be her.

She finally went through a big, ornate door and entered a room filed with people standing around in conversations. Only, once she came in, everyone turned to stare at her. She felt compelled to speak.

"I'm sorry, if I'm late. I was just congratulating the Princess." She searched the crowd for the Fire Lord, but came up empty. Then she heard him.

"My Ladies and Lords, Zyra of the Omori family, the woman who saved our Princess' life in the recent terrorist attack."

The Fire Lord's proclamation was followed by a loud applause. Zyra bowed slightly to the crowd. It was amazing how all the dumb rules of good, noble behavior came back to her the second she was back.

The guests started walking to her in small groups and introducing themselves. Only then did she notice that almost all of them walked in pairs. Married couples. Suddenly, she felt like she didn't really belong there anymore, no matter how good her palace etiquette remained.

"Evening, Lady Omori," the first man said. "I'm General Ito, and this is my lovely wife, Aki."

The woman next to him bowed. Zyra mimicked her.

"You must be Sora's parents. How nice to meet the both of you…"

"We've actually met already." The General looked to his wife, who giggled a bit to herself. "We went to school together at the Boys' Academy."

"Ravi?" Zyra squinted slightly, trying to compare the handsome man in front of her to the little boy with a pimple problem she remembered. "General _Ravi_ Ito? I can't believe it…"

"Well, believe it. And you can probably remember my wife too, since you went with her to the girls' school before you transferred."

"Oh, of course…" Suddenly, like by some Spirit magic, she remembered a little stuttering girl she used to know with the same name.

Zyra looked around the room and realized she used to know almost all the people there. These people who were still little kids and silly teenagers in her mind were all heads of their families now, and parents several times over. She knew time didn't stop here while she was away, but it hurt more than she expected to whiteness how everyone's lives went on without her like she never existed in the first place.

She spoke shortly to each of them, laughing at old memories and forgotten grudges, then circled back to the first couple.

"I apologize for not recognizing you right away. It's been a while, I didn't mean any offense."

"It's alright." The woman, Aki, smiled. Zyra remembered stuffing her into an arts' supply closet.

"Really, we mean it," her husband added. "Would you like to sit next to us?"

Zyra was about to enthusiastically agree, when someone spoke up first.

"I already had a spot in mind for her." The Fire Lord appeared out of the crowd. "Next to me."

Zyra took Ozai's offered hand and let him lead her to the two chairs at the head of the table.

_What was he playing at?_

Everyone looked at them as they sat down and only then joined them at the table. Then before the meal, Ozai made sure to make one more proclamation about her bravery and toast to it. Everyone was talking about it for the entirety of the meal, so at one point Zyra felt compelled to weigh in.

"Thank you, everyone, for your…" She coughed slightly. "Kind words. But it really was not such a big deal. All those children were in my care, I just did what anyone would have done in my place."

"Nonsense." Another man she recognized from her school days spoke up, raising a glass. "I heard you placed yourself directly between the Princess and a bomb in a mad man's hands. Is that not true?"

"It is, however…"

"The Lady Omori is too modest, by far," the Fire Lord cut in. "She even disarmed the man by herself."

"It's not how it sounds like," she spoke to the room. "I only used my words…"

A loud applause broke out. Zyra quieted down then and took it, realizing that as long as Ozai painted her as a hero, there was no way these people would accept anything else.

"Everything alright?" the Fire Lord whispered, since apparently everything on her mind was clearly visible on her face as well. Obviously, she'd lost some of her poise and unreadability in the last decade.

"It's been a long time. That's all."

"I can make them all go away if you'd prefer." Not a hint of joke in his voice.

"That won't be necessary, my Lord."

"Are you certain?"

"Remember who you're speaking with." Zyra forced herself to smile.

Then she took one look at Ozai smiling back at her at it was enough. She excused herself quietly and, instead of going to the restroom, snuck into the children's celebration.

She just needed time to think about this whole thing Ozai was doing. She needed to figure out how she felt about it and, more importantly, him. This whole night was obviously supposed to be some weird kind of love proclamation only he could come up with, so he'd demand an answer sooner or later. And judging by the few things Zyra did know about who he was now, it would be sooner.

But she couldn't think about that right now, not until she knew Azula was doing alright. The girl had come an amazingly long way since they'd first met, but a party of this kind was always a challenge. Zyra could think of at least a dozen examples of the top of her head of how it could go wrong. She believed in Azula, of course, but she just didn't believe it was the right time for her yet.

By the time Zyra was going through the garden to where the children played, she found herself running, not simply pacing. Then she saw them.

Azula and Sora were running around, holding hands, while the other girls tried to get away from them. Sora managed to catch Mai's shoulder with her free hand, so the third girl held on and the three of them ran around, hands clasped, trying to catch the others too. Zyra couldn't help but smile when she saw Azula ignore Amaya, who'd fallen to the ground and couldn't run in time, and instead go for Ty Lee giving her little friend enough time to get back up and into the game.

They were all giggling and had bare, muddy feet. Coming closer, Zyra noticed their fancy, ladies' slippers were all neatly arranged in a corner. She was sure Azula had something to do with that. Carefully, Zyra took off her own elegant slippers and placed them in the pile. The grass felt good under her feet. In fact, so good that she took out the ornamented pin that held her braid in a bun and placed it in one of her slippers. It was indeed a beautiful day.

Ozai and her used to play in these gardens too. They were always alone, though, but mostly through their own fault. They both always had to be better than everyone, with the one exception of each other. Somehow, not being the fastest runner was acceptable to Ozai since Zyra was, and not being the strongest firebender was fine with her, because it was Ozai. That worked well if there was just the two of them competing. Zyra remembered this one game they made up that sadly led to a whole row of bushes being set fire to. She moved to look for that exact place when she thought she saw young Prince Ozai sitting on a bench not far from her. Unbelievably, after she blinked a few times he was still there. Then she realized, it might not be Ozai, but it was a prince. Crown Prince Zuko.

The boy sat on the bench with crossed hands, trying really hard to face away from the girls and their game, at the same time as trying really hard to seem offended and generally unentertained by everything. Zyra actually found it adorable until she remembered that, quite like Azula, the boy was probably acting out because of his mother's abandonment.

"My Prince." She offered a little bow, since she didn't really know what Zuko was like, so she just imagined him like a young Ozai. And that boy would insist on being bowed to.

"Who are _you_?" He barely spared her a glance.

_Ozai's blood, alright…_

She moved her braid to her front and sat down on the bench too, but kept her distance from him. She turned her gaze to the girls, so the boy wouldn't feel like he was being attacked. Too much eye contact could do that to a preteen, she'd learned.

"I'm Azula's teacher, Miss Omori."

There was a long moment before the boy spoke, but Zyra let it stretch out for as long as he wanted it.

"Are you the one that saved her?"

"Yes."

"So you're the one that killed that guy, then?"

"Actually, I disarmed him. Someone else felt the need to end his life after that."

Now Zuko looked at her.

"You don't look that dangerous," he concluded.

"Well, that's how I get them." She made eye contact, smirked briefly, then continued looking at the girls' game that was just starting over.

Zuko didn't quite smile, but he uncrossed his arms, and shifted so he could look at the girls too. Probably had to check what she found so interesting there.

"Don't you like… Want to go in there, spend time with Azula or something?"

"Don't you?" Zyra looked sideways to him and he returned the gaze.

"She wouldn't want me to, and it's her birthday and everything."

"I think she would."

Zyra briefly remembered Azula saying, no, _screaming_ that they needed to check on Zuko while her life was in danger. The boy couldn't be more wrong.

"Besides… They're all _girls_. What would I do with them?"

"You can just join the game. Just run right up and help them chase each other around…" Zyra noticed Azula waving and waved back, distracting the Princess enough to get her captured by Ty Lee.

"It's a stupid game."

"So what if it is? They seem to be having fun with it. I'd join too if it was remotely fair. Believe me, I'm supposed to return to my grown-up party up there and I wish it was half as fun as this. Enjoy it while you can…" Zyra stood up, but didn't yet start leaving.

"They'd just pick on me because I'm the only boy."

"I will bet you, more of them will listen to you than to Azula, so if you don't start anything, they'll be nice."

"Why? I don't even know most of them…"

"You're the Prince, Zuko. Most of them have major crushes on you…" With that Zyra started walking away. Barely a few seconds passed before the Prince caught up with her.

"You can't know that," he said, yet continued to walk by her.

"I'm their teacher, I hear them talk… You're very popular. You and some boy named Sen."

"_Sen_? Sen's a bully. I'm better than _Sen_…" He sounded so invested already, Zyra had to stop herself from smiling. "So which ones? Which ones like me?"

"I'm afraid, you're just going to have to go play with them and find out."

"But-"

"Trust me, do it now while it's still easy to tell. They'll learn to hide it better in a few years and then you'll be in trouble."

Zyra stopped and gestured to the girls with her head. Zuko opened his mouth to object, but then simply sighed and ran from the woman into the clearing where the girls were just finishing their game.

"Can I play too?" he asked.

"Of course!"

"Yeah!"

"Come on!"

Zuko ignored the agreeing girls for a moment and looked to Azula. She didn't look so sure, so Zyra gave her a meaningful look from the back.

"Sure, why not. You can start, Zuzu."

Zyra knew she had to return to her party, but it was just too tempting to watch them running around in circles and giggling without a care in the world.

**oooooooooo**

Zyra was running through the garden ever since she noticed how much time had passed since she left the Fire Lord and the other noblemen. She carried her slippers in her left hand, because she'd always been faster barefoot. She knew this garden like it was her home, so it was a surprise when she almost ran right into someone coming from behind a row of trees.

She looked up, ready for a quick apology when she recognized Ozai.

"Fire Lord. My apologies, I-" She was cut off, when he stepped forward and kissed her. She couldn't find it in herself to resist anymore, she threw her arms around his neck and leaned in closer. It was all so right, they were in this garden again, _their_ garden, and she was barefoot and not where she was supposed to be and now neither was he because of her.

And she didn't feel it. No matter how long the kiss lasted, and it was a decent kiss, it felt wrong, because it felt like she was kissing a complete stranger.

She pulled her head away slightly, but remained in his arms.

"We shouldn't." It sounded terribly convincing, but Ozai didn't look convinced.

"Where were you? I've been looking around for half an hour."

"I'm sorry. I went to check on Azula and the girls."

"You two really like each other, don't you?"

"You could say so. We've bonded ever since the first day… She's an amazing child." Zyra removed a hand from his shoulder to brush back the stray hairs that got loose from her braid. "Oh, and I met Zuko. He's a nice young man, too. I never imagined he'd look so much like you."

Ozai let out a dismissive huff, instead of answering.

"I'm serious…" She smiled. "He even has that little, adorable pout."

"If you say so…"

"Now, what are you doing?" She grabbed hold of his collar, and fidgeted with it as she talked, like she remembered she used to. "You should have just stayed at your party, Fire Lord."

"Not without you. I called all of them here, for you." He leaned in and touched their foreheads together like she remembered he did their last night before she was banishment. "Because this is what our life was supposed to be like. If everything had gone…according to plan. Parties with our friends, while we watch our children play in the garden."

"That's a nice thought, except it didn't go like that…" She pulled back to get a good look at him. "I'm still a woman without honor and those people are definitely not my friends and the children are yours, not mine."

"All true, but it can be fixed. I called all those people tonight, so they'd see you how I see you."

"I get it… So you plan on manipulating and bullying them into liking me again?"

"With your charm, I probably won't need to."

"If I was the same person I was, I'd kiss you now." Zyra chuckled to herself.

"Marry me." He blurted out once there was silence between them.

"Did you somehow get drunk up there after I left…" She patted his chest, like it was a joke. Spirits, she hoped it was a joke.

"I'm serious, we finally have a chance to make it all how it was supposed to be. Think about it… We only lost a decade, and I'm Fire Lord now. If I say your honor is restored, it's done. They'll have to respect you, especially if you're my wife. The kids are not yours, true, but you seem to be getting along well with them. We can have a couple more if you insist, but that's up to you completely…"

"Ozai, I…" Zyra pulled away from him. "I'm not going to marry you."

"Why not?" It probably came out louder than he wanted it to.

"Excuse me, but I don't even know you anymore, _Fire Lord_."

"I thought you'd be happy for me. I only did it, because I had to get rid of him finally."

"Oh, so you could do what? Become him?"

"What is that supposed to mean?!" He looked immediately sorry he yelled. Zyra didn't care.

"You've been Fire Lord for what? Two months, and everything is the same. Like he's still here, only it's you, leading the war, telling me who I'll marry and where I should be."

"That is the most revolting thing anyone's ever said about me. I'm nothing like that man!"

Zyra didn't think striking or insulting the Fire Lord was a good idea, so she did the only other thing she could. She started walking away. He, of course, followed.

"He was a monster, I'm your friend!"

"I guess, I just figured you made up at some point." She kept walking, but she was interested to see how he'd deny her claims. "For Spirits' sake, you named your daughter after him!"

Then before he could provide her with an answer, she saw they weren't alone on the stone path. Azula and Zuko stood a few meters away, staring at them with confusion in their young eyes. Ozai saw them a second later and stopped walking too.

"Father. Lady Omori." Zuko was the first one to speak.

"Is something wrong?" Azula looked concerned. She was too good at reading people to miss it. Besides they weren't exactly subtle, yelling at full force out in the open.

"Not at all. We're just taking an evening stroll through the gardens," Ozai said.

"Didn't you have guests of your own, Father?" Zuko asked.

"You keeping my schedule now, boy?" Ozai snapped. "Should I ask you before I do something?"

"Apologies, Father." The boy looked down and Zyra wanted to blow something up.

"And why aren't you kids playing with the others?" she asked. Yes, she could still keep her face falsely polite as it would seem.

"We are. We're all playing _hide and explode_," Azula explained.

"I found Azula first." Zuko cheered up saying that.

"Revel while you can, Zuzu."

"Fire Lord," Zyra started. "How about we take this somewhere inside. So we're safe from foreign spies." She let her eyes dart over to Azula for a second. He understood her immediately. At least they still had that…

They left the children to their game and he led her up to his study. She was relieved he wasn't so forward as to take them to his bedroom. She didn't think her reputation could take another hit…

"Azula was listening then, last time?" Ozai asked as he made sure the door was closed.

"Just the part in the throne room, but yes." Zyra looked around at the mess in the study. "I don't think I've ever visited this room before."

"Sure, you have. We sneaked in here to check where my father would send me to serve. Then we made out in that closet." He pointed.

"Only _I_ could forget committing treason."

"Where were we then?" He came closer and gestured to one of the chairs. She shook her head.

"You asked about Azula's name," he continued.

"You don't have to… It's none of my business."

"No, I want to. I never _made up_ with my father. I hated him right till the end, and I'm pretty sure he hated me right back. _Azula_ happened because… Well, Sozin's dynasty doesn't produce daughters."

"What?"

"Sozin and my father only had sons because if they had daughters, they were… Taken care of."

Zyra could not conceal her shock as the words sank in.

"Iroh?" she asked immediately. She spent years taking care of young Lu Ten with Iroh's wife, not knowing he might have been killed had he been born a girl.

"No, he was just lucky like always. But Iroh and I should have three sisters between us, only they were deemed unnecessary." He paused, for her sake. He was closer with every sentence. "Naturally, as soon as my daughter was born, I pleaded with my father for her life, thinking he was more likely to spare her if she was to carry his name."

"Good thinking." She breathed out heavily, then threw her arms around Ozai. "I'm so sorry, he did that to you… All of you."

To think about little Azula never even getting a chance to grow up or even…

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, before pulling away, but just slightly. "There was a time we were planning on having children together and you didn't think I needed to know this information?"

"Iroh told me when we got engaged. I would have told you. I was weak then, I was afraid you'd go and blow something up…"

She chuckled slightly at his words, and it almost set the tears free. Almost. He probably noticed since he leaned it to kiss her cheek.

"I used to think we lost our chance at a happy life the day he found that woman," she said. "But we never had a chance to begin with, did we?

"We have one now that he's dead. If you'll just marry me, please, finally…"

"But he's not dead, really. You're keeping him alive." She felt him let go of her and she took a step back. "If you really want to kill him, you should stop the war. Like we talked about before, if you became Fire Lord."

"We were kids, Zyra. It was a fantasy."

"And now you could make it real. I remember you telling me, even as a young man, how stupid you thought your father and brother were for pushing forward with that war. How unnecessary it was… How they should focus on our own nation that had enough of war… And now you could say one word to end it, and you don't. You won't."

"It's not that simple. It never was, I just didn't realize it." He pointed upwards. "If I went up there right now and told them I'm stopping the war, you know what would happen? I'd be found dead in the morning. The Fire Sages would crown Zuko, and whisper into his ear and manipulate him into keeping it going. It's not that I want it to go on, the whole Nation does!"

"I knew a man who was ready to kill me and your daughter for the slightest possibility he could stop it. Admit it, you just like the power…"

"I do like the power! If someone has to have it, why not me?! With it, I can protect my family… Us."

"Azula wasn't very protected that day at school!"

"Zyra…" He took her hand and she found it hard to pull back. "You know I grew up knowing I'll never be Fire Lord. I was fine with that, but then they took you from me. And the reason _he_ could do that is because I was weak, but now, I'll never be weak again! With this power no one will ever be able to force me into anything. And when I win my grandfather's war, no other nation will ever be able to overpower us."

"No!" She pulled her hand away finally. "Don't make _this_, who you became, about me. I was weak too… Weaker even, but I still said no. It was an impossible choice they gave us, but it was a choice." Almost a full minute of silence descended on them. "And you're forgetting a very important fact. I loved that weak boy so much, I was prepared to give up everything for him."

"Well, he loved you so much he had to get strong for you."

It clouded Zyra's judgement that this tyrant in making reminded her of her best friend. The friend she held in her arms as he cried after his mother killed herself. The friend who even during her worst plans stayed right there by her side. If she was to think about this, really think, she had to leave.

"So that's your answer, Lady Omori?" Ozai spoke, quietly now. "No?"

She nodded and started walking towards the door. He stopped her.

"Come on, Zyra, I've loved you since I was ten years old!"

"I'm sorry."

"No!" He closed the distance between them, this time not for a kiss, but to grab her arm. "You will marry me, you understand?! I am your Fire Lord."

"Is that how you always imagined it? Having a prisoner as a wife?"

_He already had that for more than a decade_…

"It's temporary… You'll… You'll remember. You'll be yourself again. You'll love me again."

"I only ever loved one man." She looked down to where he was squeezing her arm. "And this isn't him."

"We'll see."

"You know me, Fire Lord." She didn't even try to pull her arm free, but instead shoved even closer to him and stared up at him. "I'll kick and scream the entire way down the aisle."

He smirked dismissively.

"I know you spent the last thirteen years pushing that farm girl around," she added. "But let me remind you of who you're dealing with. I'm the eldest member of the ancient Omori family, a master firebender and a scholar. Since we last stood in this room together, I've been shamed, exiled, beaten, and starved. None of it's broken me yet. I'm as dangerous as I ever was."

Zyra couldn't deny how familiar threats felt in her throat. The tone, the severity and face expression, it all came back without her even having to try. She never did that in the colonies, but there seemed to be something about this city that made it all too easy to fall back into her old habits. On some level she knew she shouldn't push Ozai, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Oh, really?" He let go of her arm. "How about this then… You marry me, or I'll take away your job."

"You can hurt me however you want, but-"

"Oh, but you misunderstand, my love... It's not to hurt you. You're right, I do know you. Even now. I know what you care about. I know you've been teaching Azula some _bad habits_. It's nothing I can't fix yet. Now, if you were her stepmother, of course, you'd have a say in how she was raised. But if you refuse my proposal, I will send you far, far away and I will tell Azula you left her."

_Just like her mother did_…

"You wouldn't do that… Not to your own daughter." Zyra tried hard to calm her mind and with that, her voice. It had to be just a manipulation.

"Wouldn't do what? Take back control over my own heir?"

"You are just like him!"

Ozai smiled then, and in that smile, she could see the one Azulon had when she came to him years ago to plead her case. Ozai, the boy, was dead. Azulon's work and her disappearance killed him long ago, it would seem. And something needed to be done about Ozai, the man…

"And you have a day to decide."

**oooooooooo**

_**So, first part, Azula starts thinking of her classmates as real people so she loses the nicknames.**_

_**Then the birthday part, my mother used to do that thing with congratulating on the hour of birth, so I kind of stole it from the woman who'd still be waking me every year at five in the morning if I let her.**_

_**I don't know what else to say, I hope I didn't go overboard with the Ozai / Zyra stuff, I sometimes just blast sad music and forget myself… XD**_

_**Anyway, the next chapter will be the last.**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Julyza**__** – I'm glad you picked up on my 'lost friends' twist, I was making Zyra mention the boys' school and her best friend A LOT. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy what I have in store for you all next.**_

_**JHLZ. NTL**__** – I'm so happy(relieved) people like the twist, so thank you. I was afraid it would be annoying or something… Anyway, yeah, as you probably read by now, I was planning on bringing Zuko in as well to meet Zyra. She didn't change his life or anything, but it's something.**_

_**And to answer your question: YES, I do outline my fics in detail beforehand, usually because when I think of a good idea, I'm already in the middle of writing something else. I really believe it does help me with pacing and avoiding plot holes whenever possible, but it's worth mentioning that I sometimes make it to the end of my outline while writing and just think "What absolute idiot thought this was a good idea?" so I have to make up the rest… Also, thanks once again for complimenting my pacing, I put a lot of effort into that because pacing issues really turn me away from books/shows.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**To a scary Biology teacher who played by her own rules and is no longer with us…**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Here I am with the last chapter…**_

_**I added some flashbacks this time, and they're all clearly titled, so they last from the tile to the first text break… And I know I'm a lazy author for using those instead of making it clear from the text, I just didn't want it to end up confusing. There's a lot of timeline jumping in so few words.**_

_**Just a reminder from two chapters ago, Zyra and Ozai met as kids when she pushed him into a pond and kicked his ass, so that's what the first part is referring to… Enjoy :)**_

**oooooooooo**

**Chapter 6**

_**FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (10)**_

Prince Ozai was forced to sit on a bench with _her_, while they waited for the headmaster. They were both soaking wet, after all that's what happened when one went for a dip in the pond, willingly or unwillingly. But what really boggled the young prince's mind was the fact that that _girl_ was just wet, while he was completely covered with mud. He currently held the only towel the school had. It was a little thing, but he was determined to use it to wipe the mud away and get somewhat dry. And he wasn't planning on sharing.

"You know, my father will hear about this! I can't believe they'd just let anyone go to this school now! If I don't do something, they'll start bringing beggar kids off the street, maybe a pup or two… Why not?!" He was talking more to myself, since Zyra didn't look like she was listening. She was hugging her knees on the bench, her dress dripping water onto the wooden floors.

"I'll tell my father everything that happened! You'll be punished. Your whole family!" Ozai continued.

"_Oh, Daddy, don't let them bring any more girls to school, they hit too hard. I'm scared._" Zyra mocked, while smiling at Ozai.

"You're not even a girl, no, I've seen girls…" He patted his head, realizing there was a patch of hair missing. "You're more like a wild beast." He turned to her then for a response. She just stared at him calmly, until she suddenly jerked towards him, baring her teeth and growling. He flinched back and she laughed.

"I just don't want to catch your rabies." He relaxed.

"I already said I wasn't aware of who you are. It's not like I want to be here, _my Prince._" Zyra gathered up her long hair and twisted it to drain the water onto the floor faster. "I was perfectly happy back in my school where I knew everyone, but we can't always get what we want."

"Yes, why did they transfer a girl here, anyway?"

"Why are you asking me? You were the first, weren't you?"

He chose to ignore her _childish_ comment. "I could order you to tell me, you know. What did you do? Bite someone?"

"Not yet." She let go of her feet, put them down and stretched. Ozai didn't know what he expected when they told him a girl was coming to their school, but definitely someone who looked more like a boy. Zyra…didn't. "If you must know… They don't really teach us anything there. We just recite poetry and learn proper noble conduct over and over again. But I taught myself a lot from books alone, so they determined I was _gifted_ and sent me here to actually learn something."

"That's a lie. They wouldn't do that no matter how smart you are."

"I'm not lying, but it's not the real reason. The real reason is that it looks like my parents won't have a son."

"Who's your father?"

"Admiral Ren Omori."

"He's important."

"And once he's gone, I'm going to be important. No male cousins, no uncles… Even if I eventually get a brother, he'll need time to grow up while I'll be managing things. And you can't run a noble family on poetry alone."

"They could've gotten you a tutor and not broken every rule we have."

"I asked, believe you me. They said, since all tutors are men, neither of them can be trusted alone with me."

Ozai said nothing.

"You see, I'll actually be someone, second son."

Ozai felt his face go red. Who did this girl think she is? He was still her prince, even if her family was the second most important in the nation.

"Once I tell the Fire Lord what you did, you'll get expelled and it won't stop there. You won't be inheriting anything. We'll see who you'll be then."

"Fine, do that. If you can't see why that's stupid…"

This got Ozai's attention. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged.

"Spit it out, Omori."

"Everyone just witnessed me, a girl, absolutely destroying you out there."

"You didn't-"

"That will lose you some of their respect. I know how to get it back."

"Well, tell me."

"You really don't see it? Maybe I am _gifted_…" She smirked. "You tell the headmaster we were just joking around, that you suggested it. You won't get punished. We get out of here and you challenge me to a proper rematch. Then you beat me in front of everyone. I'll let you win, don't worry, I'll even cry… And you get their respect back."

"And you get to stay here?"

"I don't plan to for much longer. I've been causing enough trouble, my father will probably ask for a transfer back. If not, I'll steal something, or cut my hair or whatever... It's not like I want to stay here with you, boys. Just make sure the Fire Lord doesn't hear, he was testy about this thing with me from the start."

"I accept," Ozai said. He heard how the other boys laughed when Zyra took him down and he never wanted to hear that again. "We'll have the fight today. I hope I can at least expect you to keep true to your word."

"To never seeing each other after today..." She put out her hand. He shook it.

"To never seeing each other after today."

**oooooooooo**

Zyra was caught in a dilemma, no matter how hard she tried to assure herself her choice was easy. At first, she tried to convince herself that letting Ozai send her away was the only solution, which meant she tried to rationalize leaving Azula with that instable man she talked to the previous night.

She didn't even know Azula that long. She was nothing to the girl, not her mother, not even related to her. She had no rights to decide on how the girl was brought up, yet she couldn't make her peace with Ozai turning her into… Well, into Azulon.

In Zyra's mind that man was a symbol of everything she despised and hoped to destroy. Yet, Ozai was just like him now. Maybe on some level he always was… No, she couldn't believe that. Not the little boy she knew. He was always proud, always determined and ambitious, but never this cruel. Never this _monster_.

And if she left Azula with him, in a few years there may be nothing of the little girl left there either. She couldn't leave her.

But the only alternative was to marry a monster in her friend's body.

Maybe she could make him remember… Maybe if she just stayed with him, he'd go back to being her friend… No! Her Ozai was dead and dead people didn't come back no matter how much you wanted them to.

She couldn't marry that man. She couldn't give him what he wanted…

That meant there had to be a third option.

It took Zyra the better part of the night to come up with it, but as it turned out there was one. A desperate one that led her right back to the palace tomorrow.

Late in the morning, Zyra snuck in by the same route she used when she was young, only this time she didn't go to Ozai's room. She entered one in the opposite side of that wing, and as soon as she did, the strong stench of alcohol hit her.

"Iroh?" She cleared her throat. "Prince Iroh? Are you here?"

There were no servants, luckily, but the large bed by the wall was empty. It didn't look like anyone slept in it last night. That would have meant that the Prince was away, at war, if not for the state the rest of the room was in.

The mess was mostly empty bottles, big and small, undoubtedly the source of the alcohol smell. Zyra recognized the Royal Family's legendary sword sticking out of a map on the wall. She remembered Ozai being so angry he wasn't the one to inherit it and this was how his brother was treating it.

"Prince Iroh? You'll never guess who it is!"

She inspected the table in the middle of the room, since it was covered in scorch marks, when something moved behind it. Taking a step to the side, she found Ozai's older brother Iroh, lying on the floor face down and reaching for the only bottle in the proximity that wasn't empty yet.

"Spirits, Iroh!" She rushed to the man and with some difficulty, and despite his protests, hoisted him into one of the chairs at the table. Then she sat down opposite him.

Iroh stared at her, blinking wildly.

"Zyra? Little Zyra Omori?" He found another bottle that had a few drops still left and clumsily tried bringing it to his mouth. "What am I? Dead?"

"No, but not for a lack of trying." She took the bottle from him with ease and he looked at her like a toddler who just witnessed something he wanted being placed on a high shelf.

"You don't wake a man up, while he's dreaming about his dead family. You never do that…" He mumbled, pushing a few empty bottles off the table so he could lean on one hand.

"I heard about Lu Ten. I'm sorry."

"You're in the wrong room. Your boyfriend's on the top floor now… So he brought you back for himself?" Iroh looked around, looking for any drop of alcohol he could reach. "I can't say I blame him. If I could bring back my-"

"I'm actually here because I need a favor. And I need you sober enough to think, so how about some tea?" Zyra stood up and looked around for a tea pot. "Still jasmine?"

"You won't make it right." He kicked a bottle into a bunch of others, making a lot of noise.

"I'll tell you what, if you can get up and stand on your own, you can make the tea."

"Fine." He grumbled and Zyra turned her back to him as she poured water into the pot. "Shouldn't you be away, marrying my brother or something? What's this favor?"

"Look, I know you're grieving, and you should be left alone to deal with everything in your own way even if it's _this_. But I kind of got myself into this situation…" So she told him everything that happened with Azula and then with Ozai, everything up to the choice he gave her.

"I think you should just marry him." Iroh took the first sip of her tea. From his expression she could tell it was at least decent. "After all, that's what you wanted since you were about this big…"

He raised his hand to the height Azula currently was.

"I know I did, but a lot of things changed since then. I mean, back in those days you were the incredibly handsome, perfect-bodied, young future Fire Lord…" She noticed how her words weren't exactly kind. "And now you're not as young…"

He chuckled, then sipped some more tea.

"I did let myself go a little bit, didn't I?" He patted his belly.

"Only to give the other guys a chance… I remember when I was a kid every girl had a crush at you, young or old."

"Every girl except you. I think half the reason Ozai loved you was that you weren't impressed by me."

"He changed too…" Zyra looked down. "What happened, Iroh? I came back to find a monster had taken his place."

He reached out slowly and put his hand over hers.

"Then run. He's not your responsibility… You run and you find yourself someone who's worth it."

"I can't leave Azula with him. Her and Zuko are the future of this nation, and how will that future look like if I leave them to him? I made this mistake already, I should have taken Ozai with me all those years ago, but I left him. I won't do that again."

"Zyra, dear… You may not believe me, but that monster was always inside him."

"No, no… You don't know what he was like with me."

"I'm sorry, but what you see up there in that throne room, that is my brother. Same as my father and Azula now. They all have this thing inside that just makes them do unspeakable things… It's not our fault. And we can't kill ourselves trying to help them."

"And if you'd been asked than about me? If I could change, what would you have said years ago?" That ought to shut him up, at least for a little while. Ozai she got, but Azula was still so young. She still had the capacity to become whoever she wanted. Nothing was set in stone yet, Zyra believed it with everything she had.

"I… I would've said the same thing. But I never knew you that well… I know my brother. I know Azula."

"No, you don't. _I_ know her."

"I was there when she was born. She was rotten from the start." Iroh shook his head like it pained him or something. Like he didn't just say those words willingly about his own flesh and blood. About a child.

"I _know_ her." Zyra repeated, slower this time. "She's changing, she just needed someone to show her."

"Did you get a chance to see how she treats her brother? How they both treat him? That poor boy has a good heart and Ozai just can't forgive him for that…"

"I've seen it. He's only tough on his son, because Zuko reminds him of himself at that age."

Iroh actually laughed at her words. "He calls him weak, a naive fool, spineless-"

"That's Ozai's whole thing. I think I figured it out yesterday. He hates how weak he used to be. The second son, the youngest… He's not yelling at Zuko, he's yelling at himself. And he wants Zuko to get strong faster, to avoid the suffering he had to endure." Zyra sipped her tea. "It's still wrong and despicable to treat a child that way, but it's coming from a place of great pain. That's why I keep thinking, if I could just sit them both down and talk all of this out, maybe… Maybe I could fix it."

"So you're marrying him then?"

"I have a plan, but I need your help." She took a deep breath. "I am going to get married, but not to him."

"You can't drag an innocent man into this, Zyra… Ozai will kill him without mercy, or send you both away, so it would all mean nothing."

"You're absolutely right. That's why I have to marry someone who's off limits, even to him."

It took Iroh's hung-over brain a few seconds to connect the dots.

"No… What are you thinking? He'll seriously kill me this time!" He jerked in the chair, almost falling out of it.

"He won't." She waved him off. "Just think about it."

"Hm. Do I want to marry the love of my psychotic little brother's life? I'll go with _no_."

"If we do it quickly and do it publicly, then he won't be able to do a thing. If he hurts us, then everyone will know he did it because he can't control his emotions. He's still a new Fire Lord, he has to look strong. And he can't send you and your wife away, you're the Prince. It would look pathetic, people would stop supporting him and start supporting you."

"This is mad…" Iroh rubbed his head.

"And I assure you the marriage would only be that in name. You'd go on with your business and I'd go on with mine."

"And what exactly would _your business_ be?"

"Just… Ending the war, fixing the Nation, erasing Azulon's legacy, while also saving my best friend."

_One way, or the other._

"That's awfully ambitious."

"Well, it's better than sitting around, watching horrible things happen and doing nothing about it."

He looked to the empty bottles once, then turned to look right into her eyes.

"I have no one and nothing to lose. Let's do it."

Zyra knew she was supposed to be happy at this outcome, since if he'd said no, she would have been forced to marry his brother, yet she wasn't. It was hard seeing Iroh like this for some reason. She never liked him growing up, just like Ozai never did. She distinctly remembered pulling countless pranks on the older prince. She hoped this wasn't going to end up like that, with Iroh regretting her trusted her.

"You know, he still won't leave you alone." Iroh interrupted her thoughts.

"I know… But it'll buy time."

**oooooooooo**

_**FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (14)**_

Prince Ozai stared out towards the school's chemistry lab. It was a Saturday, what was she doing in there? What could possibly take her this long?

Then he saw Zyra run out in an awful hurry. Neither the fancy dress nor the slippers she wore stopped her from sprinting towards him at a formidable speed.

"Get down!" she yelled, but Ozai was sure he wasn't hearing her right.

Then she reached him, finally, and tackled him to the ground with a jump, just as the building behind her exploded. The shock wave washed over them, but they were perfectly fine. The guards behind them, however, were knocked off their feet.

"What did you do?" He asked, amused. That girl brought chaos wherever she went. He loved it.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" She rolled her eyes then and stood up. "That blast was way bigger than I thought it'd be. I might have a knack for this."

As soon as Ozai straightened too, he realized that since she landed on him, his clothes and hair were all grassy and muddy, while Zyra was as perfect as ever.

"Oh, good. You're alive too. We have to get out of here. The sooner, the better." She was speaking to the personal guards now. How should he have known _this_ was what she had in mind when she asked him if they could take his carriage to school.

"You coming, Prince?"

"Huh?" When Ozai turned, his best friend was already in the carriage, ready to leave. He just gapped at her for a second, thinking.

"Oh, Your Royal Highness, would you venture to accompany me in this four-wheeled vehicle as it is propelled forward with the purpose of increasing the physical distance between us and the architectural structure I just cordially demolished."

"I don't think you used _cordially_ the right way." Ozai got into the carriage.

"I don't think you were using your feet the right way."

Then the carriage started moving and the two teenagers sat in silence for a few moments before Ozai blurted out:

"You blew up a building."

Then they were laughing. Hysterically.

The Prince wanted to go straight home, but Zyra wished to take a stroll through the woods, so, of course, they stopped in the woods.

"There's just one thing I don't get. Where'd you hide the explosive?" Ozai asked, slyly looking back to the personal guards who were following exactly ten paces behind, just as the rules demanded.

"Under my dress."

"But how?"

"Lady's secret." She smirked sideways at him briefly, then continued looking forward.

"All this because he made one comment. Zyra Omori, you are criminally insane…"

"Oh, give me a break, you'd drop dead of boredom without me." She drew closer to him, but not so close as to cause the guards to say something about propriety. "But we aren't doing anything else fun today until we..."

She glanced back at the men following them.

"I was thinking of shaking them too." He lowered his voice. "They look new, it shouldn't be hard."

"Run for it in five, four, three…"

"No." He pretended to cough. "How about we play the embarrassed maiden?"

"Ozai… I didn't know you wanted to see what's under my dress _that_ bad." She wiggled her eyebrows at him, then giggled at the face he made.

Then in a few second as they passed a wild bush, Zyra purposely caught her dress in it. Then as she was pulling it out, she made sure to rip the fabric, exposing a small part of her upper thigh.

"Oh, no!" Zyra screeched. "I can't be seen like this! What about my family's honor?!"

Ozai hurried to her with an expression of fake concern.

"Lady Omori, are you alright?" One of the guards stepped a bit closer. Close enough to see what happened. They had him.

"No! Stay back!" Zyra feigned hysteria. "Don't look at me!"

"Who do you think you are, looking up a noble woman's dress?!" Ozai stepped so he obscured the man's view of Zyra who pretended to start crying.

"I… I didn't… I wouldn't… My Prince. It's not-"

"For shame! Go fetch the lady something to cover herself with from the carriage immediately! All of you!"

The men obeyed reluctantly, leaving the two teenagers alone.

"The Fire Lord will be hearing about this!" He yelled after them.

"_I'll tell Daddy…_" Zyra mocked.

"Shut up."

"Make me, Daddy's boy." She chuckled.

Ozai checked to make sure the guards were far enough now.

"Race you to the stream?" he asked.

"Sure." Zyra gave him a warm smile before kicking his shin and running off at full speed to take advantage of her head start.

Ozai knew then, that girl was going to be the death of him one day…

He ended up catching her before either of them reached the stream. She just laughed.

"You want to spar?" he asked as he let her go and they started strolling towards the stream through the high grass.

"Not really. I already look like enough of a mess. I don't want to add your blood to it." She walked holding up her dress with one hand, while she held the other up to touch all the low hanging branches.

"Then what do you want to do? Right now, first thing that comes to mind."

"Something illegal."

"We already did that."

"Please... That was nothing. I plan on doing something even more illegal by the end of the day." She stopped walking and let go of her dress. "I'll need your help, though. I can't do it without you."

"I'm in. What is it?"

He barely had time to finish before she kissed him. It was the first time either of them did that so understandably Ozai needed time to think. When she pulled back, he had somehow forgotten how to blink. The smile on her lips snapped him out of it.

"See? I assaulted a prince of the Fire Nation. Illegal," she said and continued walking forward.

"Zyra? That was a pretty pathetic assault." He blurted out, before pulling her back to him and kissing her for a long, long time. Not that she was complaining.

**oooooooooo**

The twenty-four hours Ozai gave Zyra were almost up, but her decision had been made hours ago. As she walked the corridors of the palace, it finally dawned on her that she was technically a princess now. She'd wanted that almost her entire life, so it was strange it felt so incredibly wrong. It wasn't only because she was married to the _wrong_ prince, although that didn't help.

It was time to face Ozai. He had to know what she'd done already. She'd finally find out if her plan was any better than the two choices he'd given her.

She didn't plan on it, but Zyra made one last detour and stopped at Azula's room. She slowly opened the door and almost didn't notice the little girl sitting on her bed facing away from her.

"You try any of those paints yet? I'd love to see-"

"Dad told me what you did." Azula didn't turn to her.

Of course, he did… He could never resist such an opportunity for emotional manipulation.

_I bet he didn't tell you about the impossible choice he gave me…_

"And how are you feeling about that?" Zyra was close enough now that she could see the girl was not crying. She didn't look far from it, though. It wasn't fair that she was the one suffering most from this whole mess… That was the last thing Zyra wanted.

"I thought you'd want to be my family…"

"I do." Zyra sat by the girl, but Azula scooted away slightly. "Can't you see I only did this because I wanted to be your family, but not your father's wife? And it doesn't make any difference if I'm your stepmother or your aunt, I still care about you a great deal."

"But Iroh's so…"

"I'll explain everything to you later, I promise. I just need to go now."

"Will…" The girl started, then stopped herself.

"What, dear?"

"If you're not going to be my mom, are you at least going to be at school tomorrow?"

Zyra had to admit, that question hurt. She really needed to have a good, honest discussion with the girl sooner rather than later, but right then and there she really needed to be somewhere else, so it had to wait just a little longer.

"I'm not sure, if your father will let me, but I'll ask him. I'm actually heading over there right now."

She didn't want to lie.

"No!" Azula leapt from the bed to bar Zyra's way. "You can't… He's mad at you."

If Zyra didn't already have a hundred reasons to not love Ozai still, this look in his daughter's eyes would have been enough. The strong and brave girl she knew looked absolutely terrified.

"It'll be alright, Azula. I can handle him."

"No, you can't!" Azula caught Zyra's sleeve as the woman tried to walk past her. "I know what I'm talking about... Please, just go home."

Zyra stroked the girl's cheek with her other hand.

"I'll be back before you know it. And we'll finish that wall painting whether I'm your teacher or not."

**oooooooooo**

_**FLASHBACK Zyra, Ozai (20)**_

Prince Ozai stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, almost hurting the guards who stood in the hall. Once it was just him, her used a fire fist to completely destroy one of his cabinets. He almost wished it was harder to turn into flaming rubble, because he still felt like he had more anger to take out on his room.

"I take it, I shouldn't get fitted for a dress just yet?" He wasn't alone. Zyra stood all the way in the corner of the room, looking through a window. She smiled when he looked over. Spirits, she was a gift after the fight he had with his father…

"How do you keep getting in? It's the middle of the day." He unbuckled his sword belt and laid it on a chair.

"I think I'll hold onto that information in case you ever think about bringing other girls here." She walked to him.

"What girls? You're the only one worth the trouble."

"So what did he say, exactly?" She took his hand. It crushed him to disappoint her. He'd hoped to get at least one more try, before he had to tell the woman he loved his father wouldn't let them get engaged yet. Spirits, it made him feel like a toddler.

"He said no. Then I mentioned that Iroh got married at our age, and he completely lost it. _How dare you compare yourself to your brother? You're not even the same species-_" Zyra interrupted him with a gentle embrace.

"Don't listen to him."

"He said four years. At least. Until we can even talk about announcing the engagement. He wouldn't even say why. Then who knows how long before he lets us get married… I can't take it, Zyra. He even mocked me by saying he'd do it now if I can kill a dragon, like Iroh. _Prove I'm at least half the man he is_."

"But Iroh killed the last dragon."

"I know, that's the joke. It would be a farce. A fool's errand."

"Tell me, you're not thinking of going…"

"I'm not sure, I want to prove I'm serious-" He hugged her tighter and suddenly she made a quiet whimper of pain. She tried to conceal it, but he knew what he heard. He pulled away to look at her. Her face was guilty.

"Zyra…" He reached for her shirt, but she darted to the right, then shook her head. "Zyra."

After a short chase around the room, he caught her by her shoulder finally, then pulled her shirt slightly up, revealing her bruise-covered ribs.

"I swear, I'll break his arms one of these days…" Ozai turned away, allowing her to fix her shirt back the way it was.

"It's nothing. It's my fault."

"Did you ask your father to do it to you?" He sat down onto a sofa next to the still burning pile of wood that used to be his cabinet.

"No, but I asked him about the engagement. I just couldn't wait…" She sat next to him, taking his hand and the fire extinguished. "I knew he'd been called to speak to the Fire Lord, I thought that was it."

"He battered you just for that?"

"I would've probably been fine, but then he… He started saying stuff about you. How even though I had a brother now, he still didn't want his only daughter marrying a useless second son. How he could have made a better match if the Fire Lord wasn't preventing him, and I…reacted." She leaned on his shoulder.

"Reacted?"

"I defended you verbally, of course, but in the moment I also…shoved my father."

He whirled. "Zyra, you could be seriously punished for that."

"Oh, I know…"

"I can't believe how pathetic I am." Ozai leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "You have to go around, defending my honor. My father thinks I'm a joke…"

"It's not you, it's them."

"You might be right. If you could've defended yourself, we'd be at your father's funeral right now… It's not fair. I'm a Prince, I should be able to do something." He sighed. "I surpassed my father in combat years ago. It should mean I don't have to ask for permission from him anymore. It should work like that… Once a child bests their father, they should control their own life."

"I wonder if you'll be saying that once our son is as strong as you are now…" Zyra smirked at him. "If we ever have one."

"I'd let him fight me, fairly, and if he wins, he'd be in charge of his own life from then on."

"And if we have a daughter? Would you fight her?"

He winced slightly. "Of course, I would. Same rules."

"There's just one thing you didn't think of there, Prince." He turned and met her eyes. "If you ever try something like that with my kid, I'll march right into the arena, slap you both on the back of the head and make you apologize to each other in front of everyone and-"

He cut her off with a kiss.

"I'm not going dragon hunting. I have everything I need right here." He kissed her again, careful not to place his hands anywhere it might hurt her any more than breathing probably already did. How her smile remained the warmest thing he'd ever seen, no matter what life threw at her, he'd never know. "I want you to promise me something, Zyra. If I ever get like _that_… Like your father or like my father…"

"Ozai…"

"If it happens, I want you to kill me."

They locked eyes for a long moment and then she pretended not to have heard him.

"I just realized…" she started. "Four years is not that long. Not compared to the rest of our lives together. Not compared to how long we already know each other. They can't ruin it, so let them try."

**oooooooooo**

When Zyra entered the throne room, Ozai wasn't on his throne. He was in front of it, staring at it, like it could somehow stare back. Against herself, she sighed, relaxing. It probably meant her words made him think. She allowed herself the slightest bit of hope that he might be _her_ Ozai today.

"Enjoying being married to my brother, are we?" Ozai turned to look at her.

"Can't complain…"

She noted he wasn't dressed in is usual Fire Lord robes, rather he looked like he just came back from firebending training. Or like he was ready for a firebending fight. Zyra suddenly regretted wearing the long, black dress. In a verbal confrontation, it would bring her the advantage of being distracting, as she looked dashing in it, however in a physical fight it would constrict her movement too much. The fact she let her hair out also wouldn't help. Maybe it wouldn't come to that…

"I have to admit, I couldn't predict what you'd do."

"You really should've. You know I've never been good at following rules."

Neither of them moved to stand closer. They simply stared at one another intensely, like they expected the other to pounce if they took too long to blink. Zyra was the first one to break this, and step forward, towards the Fire Lord. If she wanted him to relax, she had to stop acting like either prey or hunter.

"I used to find it charming. But I will have to punish you." Despite his words she noticed a slight bit of tension release from his shoulders as she drew closer.

"Just don't punish Azula."

"What's with you two?"

And really how could he understand? How could he understand why she wanted little girls not to make the mistakes she made, when he wanted his son to turn out exactly like him?

"She's had it hard since her mother left. As well as when the woman was still here, from what I can gather."

"You could have stopped that. If you'd said _yes_ to me in the garden, you would've been her mother in the law's eyes by now."

Zyra clenched her fists, but then made herself relax them.

_How dare he?_

"I would've said _yes_, if you hadn't turned into your father while I was gone."

She thought he'd get mad at the insult again, but he just smirked.

"We already discussed this… The war is necessary."

She was silent then, for a while. Looking at him. Then she felt the prickling of tears, and she wished it was a planned manipulation. But it wasn't.

"I spent a long time studying history," she started softly. "Mostly Fire Nation history, because no matter how many times our country made me feel worthless…" The tears broke free. "I still loved it with all my heart. And you wouldn't believe the beautiful customs, the music, the inventions we had. Sozin did his best to erase it, but it can't be done. The whole world knew what we were, brave innovators. You know, once, people from all over the world would come here to watch the Great Comet. There was a festival-"

"Is there a point to this?"

"I'm wondering the same thing. Is there a point to this war if it's choking our nation? When you were younger you could feel it too. The Fire Nation right now is wrong… I just keeps taking people, and I don't just mean their lives, I mean their souls. When I was a teacher in the colonies, often ninety percent of the class would say they wanted to be a soldier when they grew up. They're children and they can't imagine a better future for themselves than to become killers. It's evil, Ozai, and we're feeding it children! Please, you have to stop it!"

Zyra let herself fall to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself as the tears stopped. Since her hair was free, it obscured her enough. She clenched her fist behind her back, two fingers sticking out together, ready to make lightning.

_Please, please, please, give me a reason to stop! Do something, say something! Something, anything, the littlest detail! A tear, a touch, a word… Please! Don't make me do this!_

The previous night she thought about this moment right here, and she thought about threatening to kill herself, to see if the Ozai she knew was still in there. But she concluded it wouldn't work. Why he wanted her had nothing to do with love anymore, she knew. It was a selfish thing now, a way to prove he'd won. That no one could deny him anything anymore.

She watched him closely as he walked over and crouched in front of her. She waited for the sign. A signal from her best friend that he was still in there. That the Fire Nation hadn't yet swallowed him whole.

"I will end the war." Ozai lifted her chin so she was looking straight at his eyes. "By winning it."

All the secret hope Zyra had for the man she loved died right there and then. It physically hurt to let go of the idea of redeeming Ozai, but she did it. She had to.

"But don't worry, the comet will come soon. _Four years is not that long. Not compared to the rest of our lives together_." She almost cringed at that, but it gave her an idea. He just kept going. "I'll have to deal with Iroh then too, because of your stunt today, but no matter… You wouldn't be you without your antics. And then everything will go back to the way it was, just like you said you wanted. With the Fire Nation and with us."

"You promise?"

"I do, my love. It's just four years. Although, I can't let you teach in that time, you'll just have to stay in the palace. I'm sorry, but I can't have you spreading these notions of yours to impressionable children… It's dangerous, not to mention illegal."

She laughed then, desperately.

"Oh,_ I plan on doing something more illegal by the end of the day_."

He smiled at her quote and that was all the distraction she needed. It was all she could get. She was ready. She'd been ready for a day, she just had to make sure she wouldn't kill any part of her friend when she killed this tyrant.

Zyra pointed her right hand at Ozai and let lightning flash from her fingertips. Unfortunately for her, he had the exact same idea. She wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but it caused a blast that sent both of them flying in opposite directions. She ended up near the entrance, while he landed near his throne.

"So much for love…" He got up first, but Zyra followed not far behind and dodged a fire blast. "I have to admit, it was a good plan."

He didn't attack again then, he just waited to see her move. He watched as she kicked off her slippers and took a familiar stance. Then he smiled.

"Well, it obviously wasn't that good." She sent a fire stream right for his head. It was smaller than his had been. More precise, but weaker.

Ozai moved out of the way. "I meant after. After you killed me. I didn't see it at first. Iroh would rule until Zuko was of age, and since he's in ruin, that would leave his wife…" He attacked again and she dodged with the grace only a woman of her stature could have. Yet, Zyra knew she couldn't keep this up. Not dressed like this. Her fire wasn't as strong, it never was and he knew it. He counted on it.

She was always fast, though. All her strategies relied on avoiding attacks or redirecting them. That was once something she was embarrassed about, but not anymore. Everyone had to play to their advantages, this was hers.

"That was never my intention!"

"Sure, it wasn't… I was surprised to see you take advantage of my poor broken brother like that."

Attack. Dodge.

"He agreed to help me. You're the one that took advantage, _Fire Lord_."

Attack. Counterattack.

"He's in mourning, he's in no position to lead us. He'll get better soon, and he'll be proud of what I've accomplished!"

"The only one who would be proud of what you're doing is your father!"

He attacked then, not aiming, just sending fire her way and it almost caught her.

"You were never as good as I was!" he yelled, attacking again. "You can't avoid them forever."

Hearing that she stopped, turned straight towards him and signaled him with her finger to come at her with everything he had. Next thing she knew, there was a wall of fire coming straight at her.

Zyra made it go around her. It was close, but when Ozai ended his attack, she was still standing there, unhurt. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve. His face was priceless… He obviously didn't know she could do that. Neither did she, not really. Redirection was always her specialty and she did focus her training on it, but she had no idea she could do it this precisely with that much fire…

Soon another stream of fire was flying her way. Oh, he was worried now…

Zyra made the fire circle her once, then return right back to where it came from. Ozai barely got away in time. She couldn't help but smile. _Always better_… We'll see about that…

"Iroh did once say to me that you and I were just too much alike. That we'd end up either killing each other or falling in love."

"Who could have known it would be both…" She smiled and he got it. It was apparent on his face.

With every dodge, she'd been slowly getting closer to him. And if she was close, she could turn his fire on him immediately. Realizing he knew, she started sprinting. He made a fire stream, but it didn't matter with her redirection skill. She was pushing it back as she ran and when she was close, he had to extinguish the fire or be burned by it.

Then as the flames around him disappeared Zyra was just in time to deliver a punch to the face while he was still off-guard. He fell to the floor and she stood over him. He tried to shoot fire up at her, but it was no use, she redirected it away from her.

This was it, she had to kill him now. Her best friend, the man she loved asked her to do this, and she would do it, even if it destroyed her. Then they heard a muffled scream. They both turned to the source. The curtain next to the exit was on fire from one of Ozai's redirected blows.

"Azula!" Zyra forgot everything else, and dashed for the curtains. To his credit, Ozai got up and started running too, before realizing Zyra already had it under control. She extinguished the fire, almost without moving her hands, then pulled the girl out and started checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine." Azula coughed, wiped her eyes, then moved towards her father. "You have to stop this! Both of you!"

"Enough of this, now… Go to your room, Azula!" Ozai pointed. "That's an order."

Zyra took her fighting stance again. "Listen to your father, Princess. Go. Let the adults speak now."

"Yes, we have something to settle." Ozai raised a fist and pointed it at Zyra. "And I'd rather you didn't see it."

"No! No, Dad, stop!" Azula insisted. "Please don't do this!"

Ozai didn't respond this time. Zyra watched his eyes and could pinpoint the exact moment he realized he now had a very quick way to win the fight. He returned the eye contact and slowly moved his attacking hand so that it was pointing at Azula rather than Zyra.

The little Princess was frozen in fear and Zyra didn't even have time to think about it. She reached the girl just in time to put herself in front of the lightning strike.

**oooooooooo**

A flash. Azula was forced to close her eyes and once she opened then, Miss Omori was on the floor before her. Dead. It took her a few seconds to process this. Then she screamed.

It wasn't words at first, just a general scream of pure horror. Then it turned into calling out for the woman.

"Miss Omori! Miss… Zyra! Zyra! Get up! Please! Zyra!" Azula was shaking the body at that point, but that was all it was now. A body.

"Please… Please… I need you." The tears were making it hard to be talk now. Then Azula felt a hand on her shoulder. Her father. She'd forgotten about him for a time.

"You monster! You killed her! How could you?!" She wanted to scream even louder. She wanted the whole palace to hear her. The whole city even. "Did you kill Mom too?! Where is she?! Where's Mom?!"

"Azula, silence!"

"You tried to kill me! I saw, you were aiming at me!"

"Calm yourself, I knew she'd jump in front of you. You were never in any danger, my daughter." And with that he tried to pull her from the body and into a hug. She struggled, but it was no use with the strength difference. "Zyra was a traitor. You saw it. You know what we do with traitors, Azula."

Azula made herself be quiet then, but her mind was still screaming he was a murderer for days after.

**oooooooooo**

They never spoke about Zyra Omori after that day. No one did. Azula wasn't really sure how her father explained the woman's disappearance to the public. She knew he had Zyra's brother executed not long after and with that, the family was wiped out. He probably didn't want the mention of it reminding him of what he'd done.

But however heinous it was, wiping our one of the most powerful noble families was a good way to make sure none of the others dared challenge you or ask too many questions.

Iroh didn't lift a finger. Ozai's reign was secure.

Everything went back to normal. Azula went back to normal.

Next day at school she shot fire at the wall painting until it was nothing but black. Then she ordered the room walled away from the rest of the school. She pushed Amaya, no, _Mouse_ down some stairs when the girl came to ask what's wrong, breaking her arm in two places. She slapped Mai when the girl talked back to her, shoved Ty Lee when she objected. She also had Crooked's father transferred to the colonies to get rid of his insufferable daughter, and gave her a burn on her neck as a parting gift.

Azula did all those things and they made her cry at night now that she knew there was a better way, but she did them because the opposite got people killed. Her fire was blue now, ever since _that_ day.

Azula went back to normal, and from the outside it looked like Zyra Omori never existed. Until one day Azula had enough.

Zuko had spoken out of turn at a meeting. That was all Azula heard before she was taken into the Agni Kai arena. She was as surprised as anyone when she saw her brother's opponent was to be their father. By the look of him, Zuko was surprised too.

_Don't be stupid, don't be stupid…_

Zuko kneeled down and started begging. Good. He could never hope to beat their father on his best day. Neither could she, for that matter. She'd thought about it. She didn't want to, but she did consider it sometimes at night. And she wasn't ready yet.

She moved her gaze from her brother to her father then. He didn't look satisfied. He didn't look like he'll let all this end there…

"You will fight for your honor."

_Don't listen to him, Zuko. Just stay down._

The Prince begged some more. Apologized. But it didn't seem to be working. Azula knew that look her father had while he stalked closer to Zuko. He'd hurt her brother. Maybe even kill him.

_Could he do that?_

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."

Only two years ago, she would have enjoyed the sight of this. Zuko humiliated. She tried to bring herself to that state of mind now, but failed.

Something in the back of her mind screamed this was wrong. Not just wrong, but cowardly. Her father was supposed to be the best firebender in their time, but he spent his time scaring a mediocre child. A child who refused to fight back. It was pathetic, really…

"You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher."

Someone had to do something, right? They were in a room full of people. And they all watched as Ozai raised his hand at his son. She looked to Iroh. The general was looking away. They all knew what was about to happen, but they were cowards too. Well, she wasn't. And she wouldn't just stand aside while her father killed another person she cared about.

So she rushed forward, into the arena, and stood between Ozai and Zuko. The Fire Lord froze.

"Azula, what are you doing?!" he snapped. "Get out of my sight!"

"It's not right! He's not defending himself…" Azula crouched down and helped her brother back onto his feet. There wasn't anything wrong with him, yet she could still feel him trembling. He was obviously surprised by what she was doing… Well, so was she.

"It would seem like you need a lesson as well. Now, step aside, daughter, I'll deal with you later."

"No."

"Azula!"

"If you want to hurt him, you're going to have to hurt me first." Her voice betrayed how scared she was. "And I will fight back."

This was it. She was going to die.

"You weaklings are no match for me, even together."

Then Iroh stepped forward.

"Leave the children alone, Ozai."

It turned out, quite a lot of people there had a problem with what Ozai was doing. With many of the things Ozai was doing.

And from there things never got back to _normal_. They got better.

**oooooooooo**

_**Here. It's done… Phew. I'm sorry if the ending was too sudden, but I kind of wanted 'better' to be free for anyone to imagine for themselves.**_

_**And I'm sorry, Zyra made a 'definite' decision like five times this chapter, but I'm like that in real life. I make a definite decision and then I rethink it again. It's never definite to me until it's too late to change my mind…**_

_**Enough apologizing now…**_

_**I had way too much fun writing the flashbacks. I won't apologize.**_

_**About the first one, I just NOW realized no relationship in the Fire Nation starts without the couple being dunked in water together (Zuko and Mai had a similar adventure) I really wasn't thinking about it.**_

_**As for Zyra and Ozai in the 14 years flashback... I wanted them to be the embodiment of:**_

_**Iroh: [about Zyra] That woman is a hurricane.**_

_**Ozai: [dreamily] Yeah…**_

_**Iroh: Hurricanes are bad, Ozai.**_

_**The third one is just :'(**_

_**As for me killing Zyra, it had to happen. I'm soft, so of course, I didn't want to do it, but the whole first part of this story wouldn't have a point if Azula didn't have to WAKE UP one day, and use everything Zyra taught her about strength and empathy and sacrifice to inspire others into speaking up. I'm all about that good deed, ripple effect.**_

**oooooooooo**

_**Julyza**__** – You've been saying Zyra's gonna die from like chapter 1, so kudos… Are you happy you were right? XD I'm joking, but you're also right that Ozai is a horrible person and they don't tend to play fair.**_

_**And once more thanks for all your support, I hope the final chapter didn't disappoint.**_

_**JHLZ. NTL**__** – "farm girl" – I imagined Zyra called Ursa that before when they only found out she existed, so I just wanted to paint the privileged, little assholes her and Ozai were (he still is) and their let-them-eat-cake level of disinterest in what non-noble people got up to. So you're a farm boy/girl if you live outside the capital city, basically, and girl not woman, because Ursa's supposed to be like, what, ten years younger than Zyra.**_

_**\- Zyra's academic life – You made me realize I didn't really have her explain that to Azula properly, even though I wanted to, so I squeezed it into a flashback as you probably noticed. I'm not sure it's that plausible, but every story asks for a little suspension of disbelief. It was supposed to be more nobles breaking their own rules - like, girls aren't as smart as boys unless it suits us… Proving their own rules ridiculous.**_

_**Anyway, of course, I was gonna have them fight! It wasn't an official Agni Kai, but I hope it didn't disappoint.**_

_**Thanks for everything and I really hope you're happy with how this wrapped up.**_


End file.
